Professional Documents
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8400
FEBRUARY 2017
A DEVELOPMENT MONTHLy
&
World's Largest LED Street Lighting Programme
The LED based Street lighting National Programme
(SLNP), currently running in the South Delhi Municipal
Corporation (SDMC) area, was dedicated to the Nation
on 9th January 2017. It is the World'sLargestStreet Light
Replacement Programme, which is being implemented
by the Energy Efficiency Services limited (EESL), a joint
venture under the Ministry of Poer Government of
India.
The SLNP programme is presently running in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tripura,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
A total of 15.59 lakh street lights have already been replaced in the country with LED bulbs, which is
resulting in energy savings Of 20.66 crore kWh, avoiding capacity of 51.47 MW and reducing 1.71 lakh
tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per annum. The energy efficiency market in India is estimated at
US$12 billion thatcan potentially result in ener savingsofupto20per cent of currentcoriumption, by
way of innovative business and implementation models.
The cumulative savings of Rs. 135 crores in next 7 years and Rs. 50 crores per annum beyond that,
through this programme, is expected to help in investment in social development initiatives and that too
without the people needing to spend any extra money.
Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas approved
The Cabinet Committee on Economic
Affairs, chairedby the Prime Minister
has approved a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme namely Road Connectivity
Project for Left Wing Extremism
(LWE)Affected Areas" to improve the
rural road connectivity in the worst
IWE affected districts from security
angle.
The project will be implemented as a vertical under PradhanMantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to
provide connectivity with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structUres in 44 worst affected LWE
districts and adjoining districts, critical from security and communication point of view. The roads will be
operable throughout the year irrespective of all weather conditions.
Under the project; constructionfupgradation of 5,411.81 km road and 126 bridges/Closs Drainage
works will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs..11,724.53 crore in the above district. The fund sharing
pattern of LWE road project will be same as that of PMGSY i.e. in the ratio of 60:40 between the Centre
and States for all States except for eight North Eastern and three Himalayan States (Jammu.& Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh & UUarakhand) for which itis 90 10 The likely duration of implementation of the
project is fouryears from 2016-17 to 2019-20.
The "Road Connectivity Project for LWE Affected Areas" is envisaged in L.WE States including the 35 woist
affected IWE districts which account for 90% of total l.WE violence in the country and 9 adjoining districts
critical from security angle as per the inputs and lists of roads / districts provided by the Ministry of Home
Affairs The roads taken up under the scheme would include Other District Roads (ODRs), Village Roads
(VRs) and upgradation of the existing Major District Roads (MDRs) that are critical from the security point of
ridgesuptoaspan -'1'"----- -----
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YOJANA Febrar3t-2017
Economic De%'elopment through Digital Transactions
-hen the Prime Minister announceddemonetisation of 500 aiid 1000 rupee notes on
the night of 8th NOvember2016, the first reaction all over the country was one of
stunned disbelief
The main objetiV of this move ws:to curb black money, corruption and fake money
menace With inflation and the cost of commodities going up daily, ihe 100 rupee and 50 rupee
notes had become virtually invisible in the purchase domain And the joke going around was
that the only two people who would accept 10 rupee notes were god and the beggar'
In India demonetisation was undertaken twice in the past, once in 1946 and the second time
in 1978. However, during bOth those timeS, the Indian economy was not so vibrant. The notes
dernonetised were of high dthominationswith very few people having access to these high
denomination notes and hence not much hardship was faced by the common man. However,
the present demonetisation announcement had widespread repercussions The 500 and 1000
rupeenotes being the most widely circulated denominations, their demonetisation left people
with no cash in hand even to purchase daily perishables like bread, milk and eggs, vegetables
and fruits. How was fees to be paid, salaries to be given, et a! became daily concerns for the
common man. The cash crunch in banksand ATMs added to the people's woes. There was clamor to deposit cash in hank
accounts, exchange old notes for new ones, and to withdraw scarce cash from ATMs.
The only fact that actually gave the comman man solace was the stated purpose of the demonetisation i.e unearthing of
black money and curbing of terror financing. The Prime Minister, in his speech, had declared that the step would strengthen
the hands of the common citizens in the fight against corruption, black money and counterfeit notes. The common man,
frustratedby the problems caused byblak money economy and also the violent proclivities of terrorist organisations funded
by: black money, was glad that some drastic action had been taken to put an end to these activities.
Another motive of the government in demortetisation was to create a casess economy. Cashless transactions ha.c
the benefit of transperancy i.e. all transactions can be traced and tracked. This helps the government to track payment
terrorist organizations and other anti-natioflal activities. At the same time, the existing *hite money of the people remairic
with banksand also in knowledge of the government facilitating it's recycling int the system for giving loans to the ujecd
and br development activities.
I Iowcyer, in a country where a large proportion of the population is illiterate and the rural areas have inadequate
rastructure for digital transactions it is not possible to create a totally cashless economy. So, the effort has now
to createa less-cash economy i.e. a system of economy wheic part of the transactions are in cash and the rest in digiti
payments. Incentives are being offered to those who make digital payments as also those who make arrangements fer
acejting payments through digital methods.
One major cause for concern in the less cash econoniy has, however, been the danger ofcyhcr crimes. \Vhik, the digitul
methods reduce the risks involved in carrying cash, they are prone to cyber security risks. At the same time there are definite
solutions to handlC cyber crithes. Often it is not the technology that fails but carelessness on the part of the user that results
in cyber security hazards. The need, therefore, is to have stricter policies to ensure high cyher security stanthlRls !Id
educate people about precautiona they need to take to minimise vulnerability.
Digtisation of the economy has been undertaken in various countries with sone being sucecssfiul and some not r
siccessfuL The most successfiul eflbrt so far; has been in Sweden. flow successful it wilt be in India wilt depend 011 h.w
much awareness is created among India's vast illiterate and semi-literate population, especially in rural areas. why'
virtually no or very less access to internet. With cffi'ctive government policies to deal with cyber security issues arid laric
scale awareness dnves to educate pedple, one can hope to see India become a global player in the digital econoum. U
YOJANA -Febmaiy20l7
Demonetisation A Look Back at
the last Two Months
Aria, Jaitley
DO YOU KNOW?
LEGAL TENDER MONEY
Denomination of a country's currency by law, must he accepted as a medium of exchange and payment for a money
debt. While usually all denominations of the circulating . .-.
paper money are legal tenders, the denommation and amount :'
in coins acceptable as legal tender varies from country to
country. This is also called lawful money.
z-.
The legal tender money is of two types:
(I) Limited Legal Tender Money: This is a form of
money, which can be paid in discharge of a debt
up to a certain limit and beyond this limit, a person
may refuse to accept the payment and no legal
action can be taken against. Coins are limited legal
tender in India.
(ii) Unlimited Legal Tender Money: In this form of
money, which can be paid in discharge of a debt of any amount. A pison who refuses to accept this money
a legal action can be taken against. Paper notes/currency are unlimited legal tender in india.
The 'Legal tender' is the money that is recognised by the law of the land, as valid for payment of debt. It must be
accepted for discharge of debt. The RB! Act of 1934, which gives the Central Bank the sole right to issue bank notes,
states that "Every bank note shall be legal tender at any place in IndIa in payment for the amount expressed therein".
The recognition or cancellation of the legal tender status is important because paper money derives all its value
from the Government's recognition of it. Also, for a piece of paper to function as a medium or exchange and store of
value, it needs to enjoy unquestioning acceptance from the public. This can only be ensured by declaring such paper
currency notes as 'legal tender' through a fiat, with the RB! or the Centre promising to 'pay the bearer' an equivalent
sum if the currency note is presented to them.
Non-Legal Tender Money: It is a form of money, which is generally accepted, but legally is not bound to accept
it. Such as cheques, bank drafts, bills of exchange, postal orders etc. are not legal tenders and are accepted only at the
option of the creditor, lender, or seller. It is also called the optional money because it does not have legal backing and
their acceptance is optional. U
Prar'aIa Sth10
Amogh A-ro'a
Pravak Sahoo is Associate Professor,'lnstitute of Economic Growth (lEG), Delhi. Arnoh Arora is Research Intern. Institute of
Economic Growth (lEG).
12 . YOJANA.Febmary20l7
the country takes its first step towards to participate in
a transparent economy. The end of accomplishing this
cash may seem like fancy thinking but challenging task.
certainly cash is on its way out. Also many people
have enrolled at the
Towards a Cashless Society webpage launched by
Soon after dernonetisation, the HRD Ministry and
government took a variety of steps the positive feedback
to motivate people and seek their and suggestions show
attention towards various digital modes the enthusiasm among
to be adopted so that people do not have the people. Getting Fa,nilfar wi/h cashless Purchases
to stand in long queues either outside BHIM (Rharat
a bank or an ATM when there was a Aadhaar Payment App: Go
Interface for Money): On
cash crunch. 25 December 2016, government
30 December 2016, the Prime
launched an Aadhaar payment
Lucky Grahak Yojana for Minister launched a new e-wallet
app; it links the Aadhaar Card
consumers and Digi Dhan Vyapar app, BuM, to make it easier to
of an individual to his/her bank
Yojana for merchants: transact online. The Aadhaar-
account. This application will he
based mobile payment application.
connected to a biometric reader
With the aim of incentivising will allow people to make digital
and customer will enter the uniuue
digital payments, the government payments directly from theirbank
Aadhaar number and choose a
on 25 December 2016 launched accounts. One's phone number is
bankS for the transaction. One
digital lottery schemesLucky linked with the bank account and
special feature is that this app
Grahak Yojana for consumers hence can transfer money at the
can be used by a person to make
and Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana click of a button. However, though
payments without any phone.
for merchants. With incentive the app can he synced with UP!-
schemes like these, the Digital enabled bank accounts, only one The Sweden Experience
India movement will certainly UPI-enabled account can be added
strengthen the country's economic to BHIM. A person with two bank Sweden is one of the top five
backbone. Only transactions accounts will have to switch cashless economies in the world. It
processed through RuPay cards, between the two to perform UPI has already adopted effective policies
Unst roctured Supplementary transactions on both accounts. to facilttate transactions using mobile
Service Data (USSD), UPI, or plastic payments through digital
and Aadhaar-Enabled Payment Ru1'ay: RuPay is an Indian infrastructure. Sweden is the first
System are part of the schemes. version of a credit or debit card country to promise to go 100 per cent
and similar to international cards cashless by 2020, and leads the race
Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan: The such as Visa or MasterCard. The to become a cashless society with
Vittiya Saksharta Abhiyan has National Payment Corporation banks, buses, street vendors, and even
been launched to encourage people of India (NPCI) launchedRuPay clmrches ecpecting plastic or virtual
to adapt to adigital economy and under the Jan Dhan scheme. Banks 'ayments. According to the central
cashless modes of transaction. The provide every account holder bank (the Riksbank), cash transactions
main purpose of this campaign is to a RuPay debit card with Rs 1 made up barely 2 per cent of the
create awareness and to encourage Iakh accident insurance. RuPay value of payments made in Sweden
the people and to motivate them to works on three channels (ATMs, in 2016, and thefigure is expected to
go digital. The Ministiy of Human point-of-sale (POS), and online drop to 0.5 perent by 2020. Around
Resource Development appealed sales) and is the seventh such 900 of Sweden's 1,600 bank branches
to the people to use a digitally payment gateway in the world. no longer keep cash on hand or take
enabled cashless economic system Since crores of poor people have cash deposits and many, especially
foi funds transfer. It also appealed a RuPay debit card, this is an in rural areas, no longer have ATMs.
to private, and government effort to involve lower-income Circulation of Swedish krona has fallen
institutions of higher studies to groups in the cashless economy. from around 106 billion in 2009 to 80
receive and pay nothing in cash, However, the primary focus of billion in 2016.
and develop a cashless campus RuPay is financial inclusion and
(shops, canteen, and services). it needs to match all the policies Technology plays an important
This appeal motivated students, and standards of credit/debit role when we talk about the policy
faculty, and staff members of cards to bea world-clas financial shift from cash to cashless. Swish (a
many educational institutions product. mobile app owned by six Swedish
S I Qurai,hi
The author is the former Chief Election Commss inner of India and the author of the book "An Undocumented Wonder The Making of the
Great Indian Election".
he Government will setup 50 Biotech Laboratories in Senior Secondary Schools of Arunachal Pradesh under
the scheme Biotech Labs in Senior SecondarySchools (BLISS) to encourage young dynamic students and
Rs. 75 to 100 crores have been earmarked for implementing the projects.
A State Level Biotech Hub will also he set up in the State for conducting high-end researches and training North
Eastern Region Researchers and students, to create and train employable manpower. For protection of indigenous
traditional knowledge of the State, an Intellectual Property(IP) Cell will be set up in the State Science and Technology
Council. Five centres of excellence will also be established in different areas of Biotechnology in the State.
Setting up biotechnology labs iii the schools will directly benefit more than ten thousand students and teachers of i
the state towards promoting education in biotechnology and attracting billion young students with multidisciplinary
research areas. The outreach programme will immensely help in generating awareness and enhancing literacy and
promoting public understanding of biotechnology in the state. The outreach programme will have direct benefit to
more than five lakh people including students in the state, towards understanding biotechnology comprehensively!
holistically.
These projects will lead to more than 1500 natural dye extraction units, 100 banana libre and extraction
units, more than 150 fruit processing units, more than 300 mushroom production entrepreneurs. 200 medical and
aromatic cultivation units, and more than 50 orchid cultivation entrepreueurs and more than 100 vermi-culture
entrepreneurs /
Implementation of Biotechnology projects will also lead to developirigmarket linkages to facilitate entrepreneurs
for marketing their produce that will help in income generation, sustainable Socto techno.economic development in
rural tribal areas at large The Project will also lead to biotechnological implementation and sustainable utilization,
development and conservation of bio resources of the State
e. North Eastern Instituteof Ayurveda and Homoeopathy (NEIAH), was inaugurated in Shillong, Meghalaya
recently. It is the second Ayurvedic College in the North East Region with a Homeopathy college and the only
Central Academic Institute of Ayush.
This Institute will cater to the needs of all the states of the North East. The establishment of this Institute vill solve
the problem of scarcity of doctors in remote areas of the North Eastern regions to a great extent as it will produce quality
medical graduates in the stream of Ayurveda and Homeopathy and thefeby it will suitably help in implementing and
:improving the execution of national health policies.
Timnsy Jaip'ria
The author is currently Special Correspondent with CNBC TVI8, with wide. experience in the field. She specializes in writing on
economic, socio-economic and politico_economic issues ranging from taxes, intern'ational trade relations, infrastructure, social
schemes and many more.
wtjw.iacebooi.com/mentor.kiddhartha
(..
Cyber Security:
Issues and Way Forward
B 1W ilfc/ilre
The author is Professor at the Center for Cyber Security, Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology, established by
Reserve Bank of India. His areas of interest include Cyber Security, Digital Forensics and Technologies for Cyber Defense. His seminal work
on fingerprint identification led to the development of the first automated fingerprint identification system in India, which was later deployed
in many states in India and some countries abroad.
26 YOJANA Fcin'ar.' 20
Less-Cash Economy:
India visa vis the World
Arpita Mukherjee
Tuna M Goyal
Dr. Arpita Mukberjee is a Professor at ICRIER. She has several years of experience in policy-oriented research, working closely with
the government in India and policymakers in the EU, US, A SEAN and in East Asian countries. Her research is a key contributor to
India's negotiating strategies in the WTO and bilateral agreements. -
Tanu M (loyal is a Consultant at ICRIER and her research interests include trade in services, international trade agreements and
policy and regulatory issues. She has edited and co-authored books, puhuished in international and ational journals and has written I
book chapters and popular media articles.
Among developing countries South Korea, which has one of the card at the point of sale), per million
Kenya has taken measures for online highest penetrations of cards among the inhabitants in th country compared to
rayrilents for government services comparative countnes, is a fast mover other developing countries including
as council parking, constructioii into the cashless payment system. It Brazil and China (see Table I).
permits, land rates, renewal of driving introduced a preferential value added
There are several other modes of
icences and passport fees to reduce tax treatment for consumers who pay
settling payments that have taken-off
Leud and ensure better collection.S through card, thereby encouraging
the use of plastic money.'2 In India. in other less-cash countries, which
according tothe World Bank's
hank charges arc deducted iii case of include electronic money terminals
Phal Findex Report, 5S per cent
card payments thereby making it and mobile-money payment systems.
the adult population in Kenya had
more lucrative for consumers to pay In India, the available infrastructure
:1.:tive mobile money accounts in
by cash. for these modes is limited. With a
3014, the highest rate in the world.9
population of 1.2 billion people,
The Central Bank of Kenya i'eported Further, compared to the large size India has a wireless phone subscriber
31 million mobile money subscribers of the Indian population, India has. base of over a billion people as c;f 30
backed by close to 144,000 agents one of the lowest, numbers of point June, 20i6.' Yet, only 0.05 per cent
in 204 5.Kenya is an example where of sale termIna1r PoS which help :.Of' the total non-cash transactions
mobile technology and the increase in. processing cashless transaction?re made through elecftonic money
in smartphone ownership have through the use of debit or credit2 terminals that can be accessed through
played key roles in improving online, mobile phones.'5 One of
payments despite low credit card Figure 2: Number of Cards'3 per Inhabitant for the reasons for this is that
usage and internet penetration.' Selected Countries (2011-2015)
smart phone ownershi
and internet penetration
AvitabIe Infrastructure
i low inIndia. ornpared
Apart from acceptability to other countries. in
of electronic means of payment, India, only 17 per cent of
it is important that these payment adults had smartphones in
insvniments penetrate into the society. 2016 copared to 88 per
In India, for instance, in 2015, only cent in South Korea and
half of the Indian population had a 26 per cent in Kenya)
card." Compared to this, in Sweden, Further, 26 per cent cf
the average number of cards per person individuals v/crc using,
was 2.5, in South Korea it was 5.5; in Source: Authors calculation from http://wwwbis.orgl the internet in lndu in
Brazil 4.1 and in China 4. cpmi/publ/d155.pdf (accessed on 26 December; 2016) . 2015 as compercd ic
fl ! ri
CSE - 2015-16
21. M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing
and micro-financing service launched by Vodafone:
22. http://www.1ivemint.com/Po1itiestJ46fZ71Ap-
kXgN2e5TZmNYP/Cabinet-nod-for.-ordinance-seeking- ,_ - . .....7t .u.'..I('9 s,..l'Jtj a.,-..59
cashless-transactions-unde.html (accessed on 23 Deceni- J' S'... .sha.'.t Sei5r..h aaT15a.ar
ber, 2016); at present, the Ordinance is only liable to
government employees.
23. For details see htlp://www.thehindu.com/opinionlop-edl
at-akodara-indias-first-digitai-village/article74l8ol2.ece
.,.. 8I) . ,!..O ....... I
(accessed on 27 December, 2016) . . ............................
24. See https:l/www.theguardian.com/business120 l6fjun/041
sweden-cashless-society-cards-phone-apps-leading-europe
(accessed on 28 December, 2016)
25. For details see http://www.newsl8.com/news/tech/gst-rate-
sIJ ...n:..tI)29
what-happens-to-smartphones-and-will-make-in-india- - .... ::::-. Shrae
make-snse-1308200.html (accessed on2 January, 2017) & many m,ire...
26. For details see https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/
www.aaiias.com Emad ID: civils.aalias@gmail.com
Deloi tte/global/Documentsllax/dttl-tax-corporate-tax-
rates.pdf (accessed on 2 January, 2017) LI OIl) RAJEN0RANAGAR7O, Ill" F1bo Bada Bazar (Near Canara Bank) New flelhi.60
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Sameera Saurabh
The author is Director, (Plan & Policy),Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. She has handled internatonal
multilateral negotiations and policy in various ministries of the, Government of India and has represented the country in various
international fora like BRICS, G20, IORA and lLO.
Saizdip Das
T
following the accounts have been opened under the
announcement of Jan Dhan Yojana. The scheme also
demonetization of promised to provide every new Jan
Rs500andRs 1000 Dhan account holder with RuPay debit
notes in November cards, with 19.5 crore cards being
last year, had stated issued so far. The Finance Ministry has
that this currency swap would not said that the government is aiming at
merely nudge the economy in the ensuring that Jan Dhari bank account
direction of cashless economy but holders became the tlagbearers of
give it a significant push in that digital transformation in the rural
direction. More than two months areas.
after demonetization, there is a
transformationtaking place in the rural Dairy Sector
The govern ment is areas in adoption of various modes of While digital transactions have seen
cashless financial transactions facilities a jump in several areas of commerce
targeting at digitally available such as - payment gateways after the govemments announcement
or mobile banking services such as onemonetization, the organised dairy
educating one Aadhaar Enabled Payment System, sector hasn't been left behind. Milk
crore rural citizens, National Unified USSD (unstructured farmers affiliated to both the state
supplementary service data) platform, cooperatives and private companies
which implies that point of sale (PoS) machine linked to have oped more than a million new
debit and credit cards and mobile app:I bank accounts and have also received
people are trained based programmes such as e-wallet. " payments in their accounts since
as consumers to use Entire focus of the government his November 10. Since middle of last
been on ensuring thata signifIcant chunk year, total banks accounts opened for
all payment options dairy farmers have exceeded more
of rural population adopts cashless
than 3 mi1Iin.
I available to them and transactions in various activities such
as receiving wages for Mahatma The department of animal
what is best suited Gandhi National Rural Employment husbandry under the agriculture
for them Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) through ministry recently had directed
the bank accounts of beneficiaries, National Dairy Development Board
direct fund transfer to banks accounts (NDDB), Delhi Milk Scheme and
of dairy farmers for the milk sold all the state level dairy federations
to cooperatives or private sector or to ensure direct payment to farmers'
making purchases through using bank accounts within next couple
RuPay cards issued by banks under of months. The government had
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. At also urged the country's biggest dairy
The author is a Delhi based journalist with wide experience in wilting on rural issues.
financial literacy steps were taken to provide sufficient Taking the initiative, the.
funds to the farmers to buy inputs government took the lead and starto
such as good quality seeds, fertilizers this process of digital payments from
and pesticides etc for sowing of Rabi home. In order to attain the goal of
crops. Similarly steps were taken to complete digitization of governmcitt
piovide funds to traders by increasing payments, the Ministry of Finance,
The author is Additional Director General (M&C)., Press Information Bureau, Ministiy of information & Broadcasting, Governnientoflntha.
42 YOJANA February 2( 7
Government of India ieviewed the objectives of withdrawal of legal [conimonly known as CVI)I and
existing limit of Rs. 10,000I-(Rs. Ten tender status ofRs. 500 and Rs. 1000 additional duty of customs Ecommon'
Thousand only) prescribed regarding notes was to move the Indian economy known as SAD]. Simultaneously, to
c-payment to Suppliers etc. it has now further towards digital transactions. encourage domestic manufacturers of
been decided to lower this threshold Most banks have already begun a such devices, all goods required for
limit from Rs, 10,000 to Rs. 5,000 promotional exercise by waiving the manufacture of PoS devices have
(Rupees Five Thousand only). The MDR charges on debit cards -up to end also been exempted from excise duty,
last review in this regard was made December 2016,. Banks will now be and consequently from CVD am! SAt).
only in August. 2016. Accordingly, fbcussing on significantly stepping-up These exemptions will be valid (ill 31st
all the Ministries/Departments of.the transactions in mission mode through March 2017.
Government of India have been now alternate banking channels such as
directed by the Ministry of Finance NEFF, mobile wallets, pre-paid cards, As part of the plan to expand the
to ensure with immediate effect QR' codes, pay-roll cards, debit and digitaf payments ceo-system aud
that all payments above Rs. 5000/- credit cards and Unified Payments facilitate the move towards cashless
(Rupees Five Thousand only) to Interface (UPI), Apart from urban transactions, the government has
suppliers, contractors, grantee/loanee areas, banks will increase and sustain decided that an additional one millIon
institutions etc. are made by issue of their focus on semi-urban and rural new PoS terminals would be installed
payment advises only. areas. This outreach would be backed- by 31St March 2017. Towards this end,
up by an advertising campaign from banks have already placed orders for 6
In its endeavor on moving towards lakh PoS machines and another 4 lakh
Indian Bankers Association (IBA)
the electronic payments, the Central PoS machines are likely to be ordered
including demonstration videos on
Government Ministries/Departments in the next few days. The country today
how to use cards and other modes for
have been crediting the salary and has about 15 lakh PoS terminals across
cashless transactions.
other payments for themajority of its different merchants to facilitate card
employees electronically, direct into based payments.
the designated bank accounts of the With these and other steps
employees. Given the progress made in already underway, there is a A special drive has also been
banking technology, it is assumed that undertaken jointly with Ministry of
dear path towrird more digital
each employee would be in possession Labour & Employment and States'
of a DebitJATM card linked to his/her transactions by all citizens. This Administration to open hank accounts
bank account. Government employees will serve the larger objective for unorganized labour by holding
arc being encouraged to maximise of making bunking activity camps at various locations. A total ot
the usage of debit cads for personal 2,73,919 camps have been organized so
easier and achieving the goal
related transactions instead of cash far in which 24.54 lakh accounts have
which would go a long way in making of financial inclusion that the been opened.
the employees as ambassadors' for government is cmmitted to.
the digital push and also motivate, There are 30 crore RuPay Debit
encourage the general public in Cards which have been issued,
taking-up the cause. All Ministries! With these and other steps already incldin those issued to Jan Dhan
Departments are also requested to underway, there is a clear path 5 account holders. There was a growth
encourage their employees to make towards more digital transaction > any 300 per cent in use of RuPay
use of debit cards for personal related by all citizens. This will serve the. cards.in 12 days. To facilitate the use of
transactions instead of cash. Ministries! larger objective of making bankinj this debit card, the banks have decided
Departments have been asked to liaise activity easier and achieving the to waive transaction charges (MDR)
with their accredited banks and set-up goal of financial inclusion that the up to 31st December, 2016. National
special camps to. facilitate obtaining government is committed to. Eayments Coemcil of India (NPCI) has
of and ensure that all its employees already waived switching charges for
are in possession of debit cards. Point of Sale (POS) devices are RuPay Cards. Together, these steps will
Ministries/Departments are also asked used for cashless transactions, both for improve the acceptance of debit card&
to issue similar advisories to their making payments or disbursing cash. at different establishments.
attached/subordinate offices, PSUs, PoS do not attract any basic customs
duty. To further reduce the cost of To promote greater use of debit
Autonomous Bodies etc.
such devices and thereby encourage cards, public sector banks and some of
The Finance Minister had digital payments, the government the private sector banks have decided to
emphasised that physical currency has exempted such devices from waive the MDR charges till 31.12.2016.
mnst shrink whiie the economy should Central Excise Duty. Consequently, Other private sector banks are expected
expand, shifting more and more focus ,these devices will also be exempt to do likewise. Consequently, the
to digital currency. One of the major from Additional Duty of Customs transaction charges including the
The author s a career central banker serving in the Reserve Bank of India and presently deputed to IDRBT (Institute for Development
and Research in Banking Technology), Hydebad. He has worked in Communication, Information Technology, Payment Syseeias, MICR
technology, Central Accounts, public accounts, foreign exchange, etc.
f yyy
only in about 15 major cities but after ATM -
cb.qc
2004 it evolved as NEFT (National WS
56 YOJANA February 20 7
the common man if they lose distributive growth rate", that is Readings
money because of digital crime. A the growth rate achieved bereft of
ystern of digital investigation and black money and with distrilutive Daniel D, Swartz GRW and Ferniar A
insurance should be created. justice. In other words it must be L (2004): Economic of Cashless SocieLs:
pro-poor and transparent growth An Analysis of Costs and Benefits ol
vii) The self help groups (SFIGs) can Payment Instruments; i\El - Brooks Joint
rate with the help of digital
be of great help to the people in Centre.
transactions. The high growth
the promotion of digital banking
rate achieved with the help of Humphery D B (2004): "Replacement
systems in the rural areas. More
black money cannot be helpful of cash by cards in U 5, consumer
and more SHGs must be given
to reduce poverty and economic payments, Journal of Economics and
the charge of bank rnitras (friend)
inequality. Business, 56, pp 211-225.
who can extend their help to
the hank, post offices and bank xi) Strong political will among both Patia S (2016): "Estimate, impact and
correspondents during the re- the ruling and opposition parties is control of black money in India" 4cnut
monetization process and also necessary for the implementation Resonance, Vol.V, Issue-Ill, pp 60-60.
proliferation of digital economy, of any economic reform including Ramesh Thakur "Economic and
use of debit and credit cards for dc-monetization and cash less political risks of India's demonctizat ion
making payment in the purchase economy in the country. see http://www.japantimes.co.jp/
of goods and services in the opinion/2016/il/2 7/commentary!
countryside. Besides the rural Conclusion world/economic-political-risks-indias-
social infrastructures such as demonetization/#.WEpN l2Umn1U.
The Crisil Report says that "the
Youth Clubs and Mahila Mandals
demonetizatiOn move could change Singh P N and Singh J K and Ratnesh
and Panchyati Raj Institutions the face of the Indian economy". K (eds.) (2008): Encyclopedia of Indian
should be energized for the According to Mauro F Guillen "the Economy, Deep & Deep Publications,
propagation of digital rural move could stifle some business New Delhi.
economy. The "Gram Sabhas" in that are legal and clean, if they use
PRIs(Panchayati Raj Institutions) Thrope E and Thorpe S (2010): The
cash payment. But everyone will
and "Ward Sabhas": in ULBs Person General Knowledge Manual 2010,
adjust. And while it can hurt some
(Urban Local Bodies) must take Dorling Kindersley (India). New t)elhi.
small business and individuals, it is
up the issue ofdigital economy at better to do it than not". According htt:f/gurumavin.com/hlack-moncy
the village level. still-unresolved-tnysteryL
to IMF "we support the measures to
viii)All the line department fight corruption and illicit financial https://vw w.quora. coin/I las-any-
functionaries such as school flows in India." India is a great country-other-than - India-ever-had-
teachers, health workers, village democracy where the people at large Demon et i zat ion-of-thee jr-currency-
development officers, anganwadi despite inconvenience supported notes-i.
workers, etc. must educate the demonetization drive by the
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/
the people about the financial government for unearthing black
demonetization-delhi-disguised-dev ii_
inclusion and digital economy. money and counterfeit currency.
deliberative-dawn-vinnakota
Government has a large net work Demonetization and cash less
of village !evelfunctionaries and http://www.ucnews.in/news/2 101-
economy in the long ru will hay.> 10424 12054690856/demonetization-in-
institutions which can take up the negative impact on black money atd
challenges of promotion ofdigital india--who-will-pay-the-price-.html
positive impact on economic growth
India. http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/india
and development. By controlling
per centE2 per cent8ff per cent99s-
ix) Like Pulse PoliO Campaign, the black money, these two measures
- hlack-economy-causes-implicatioflS-and-
Digital India campaign twice or i.e demonetization and promotion
remedies -
thrice in a year in a mass scale can of cashless transaction will help
be conducted in the country. It is the nation to achieve a cleaner and http ://economictimes.ind iatimes.
an appropriate way to propagate transparent growth rate bereft of corn/news/economy/indicators/cash-
the Digital India campaign both black money. Income earned through togdp_ratio_now-on-par-with-tS/
in rural as well as urban areas. demonetization, if spent on various articleshow/56009744.cms
Besides, the digital infrastructure developmental activities such as http ://times ofi nd i a. india times.
also needs to be improved. roads, sanitation, health, education, corn/bus jness/india-business/IfldiaS-
employment generation, and other love - for-cash - cost S -3 5 b n - a - year!
x) India being one of the emerging livelihood projects and programmes articleshow/45934597.cms U
economies in the world must try will enhance development and raise
to achieve high "transparent and the quality of life of the people. (E mail:bkp at! anaikignou.aC.in)
P
ublications Division has recentlybrought
out a book on the evolution of the Indian
Judicial System. Released on the occasion
of Constitution Day by Chief Justice of India
Justice T.S. Thakur, in the presence of Shri Ravi
Shankar Prasad, Minister for Law & Justice and
Electronics & Information Technology the book
has been designed as a Coffee Table Book which
has several photographs of archival value.
58 YOJANA Ftihs 7
PUBLICATIONS DIVISIONS PARTICIPATION
IN WORLD BOOK FAiR, 2017
Publications Division (DPD), like every year, participated in
the World Book Fair, 2017 organised in New Delhi at Pragati
Maidan from 7-15 January, 2017. The Division, a pioneer in
publishing books on Art, Culture and Heritage received very
encouraging response from the visitol3.
iIssions were also organized during the Fair on the topics of "Baal Sahitya Lekhan ki
ulya Bh'arat Ki Chaviyaan" and "Literature on Mahatma Gandhi: Reaching out to Youth
a.