Encouraged by our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s initiative to make Indian economy cashless after demonetization, I decided to chip in my little bit by paying for petrol at a fuel station in Goregaon by using my debit card. However, I was shocked when my bank account got debited by Rs.2057.60 for filling petrol of Rs.2000 which is a whopping 2.9 percent more for the product I bought. If digitization or cashless transactions come at such a huge cost, citizens would be discouraged to participate in PM’s innovative drive to curb black money. Cashless transactions should be encouraged by all means but the cost on people using the same should be minimal or at cost price to encourage people to use this mode of payment. Modalities should be worked out in a manner that it doesn’t hurt the service providers as well as citizens and I am sure India can set a good example for other countries to follow in the years to come. Cashless or digitization sounds innovative and beneficial to curb black money, will have the initial hiccups or teething problems but should succeed in the long run for which I am very much confident. Let us all support Modi in this endeavour!
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
