Cashless India is a mission launched by the Government of India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reduce the dependency of the Indian economy on cash and to bring hoards of stashed black money lying unused into the banking system. The country embarked upon this transition to a cashless economy when the government took the revolutionary step of demonetization of old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 on November 08, 2016. This move was targeted at the fake currency circulating in the Indian market and the black money that somehow escaped the radar of tax authorities.

Long and Short Cashless India Essay

Essay 1 (250 words)

Cashless India is a term coined recently after the Union government went ahead with its plans to demonetize currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. Initially, it led to severe criticism as people faced great difficulties in exchanging the old currency notes or withdrawing cash from their accounts.

According to the critics of the government, adequate arrangements should have been made in advance to support the people in dealing with a cash crunch in the wake of this move towards cashless India. Also, adequate security measures are required to guard online transactions against fraud which is very common in India. The critics further argue that due to the unavailability of required cash flow in the market, many people died and lost their jobs, painting a scary picture of India becoming cashless post-demonetization.

However, after the demonetization of the currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, the country has witnessed a surge in cashless transactions through the digital mode, be it through credit/debit cards, mobile phone applications, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) app under Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) or e-wallets, etc.

Conclusion: True, there are difficulties in implementing the idea of a cashless economy in a vast country like India where a large number of people are living under misery and poverty, yet a beginning had to be made someday. Today, there is a sea change in the mindset of people with regard to digital means of monetary dealings which are safe, easy, convenient and transparent. There is no place for black money or counterfeit currency in cashless India.

Essay 2 (300 words)

Cashless India is a recently introduced phenomenon targeted to bring a sea change in the country’s economy by the Indian government, transforming the cash-based economy into cashless through digital means.

However, still, there are various challenges to be addressed if we want to make India cashless in true sense. India is a vast country and the convenience of making transactions through the online mode is not available across the country. In small cities and villages, the people are mostly suffering due to an acute cash crunch situation. To make India cashless in the true sense, investment is required to be made in enhancing the facility required on a mass scale for cashless transactions across the country.

Handling the flow of cash with digital technology has a range of advantages. Cashless transactions have made people keep all their cash into the bank and hence liquidity in the banking system has increased. Also, it has stopped the flow of black money, up to some extent. Now the banks and financial institutions have more money to lend to the people to support the growth of the Indian economy. The other most important advantage is that this situation will make people pay their taxes in a transparent manner; hence the government will have more money to run various schemes meant for the welfare of the public.

Conclusion: Post-demonetisation, the people have finally started believing in the power of the plastic money in the form of credit card/debit card, and other channels of electronic payment. Online banking has gained prominence due to the unavailability of enough cash in the market. Moreover, E-commerce modes of making payments have also become popular, as most of the people have now started making payments of even Rs 50 through the digital modes. All these developments are considered to be good for the healthy growth of the economy.

Essay 3 (400)

Introduction

Cashless India is a move that has assumed significance in the backdrop of demonetization of high-value currency by the NDA government at the Centre. On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetization of currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 and took the people by surprise. People standing in spiraling queues at ATMs and banks’ counters to exchange their old currency notes or withdraw cash became a familiar scene across the country.

However, the new cashless revolution ignited by this move has gradually started changing the mindset of people, who were earlier mostly dependent on currency notes only for doing transactions.

Benefits of cashless India

• Cashless transaction does away with any hassle to carry cash.
• It is in keeping with the worldwide trend. People need not carry any cash in various countries around the world as most of the transactions there are done electronically.
• In digital transactions, you can view the history of your expenses at one go which helps you to manage your budget easily.
• Since cashless transactions are traceable, they invite payment of taxes, wherever applicable, thus ruling out the use of black money.
• As tax collections become easy through the cashless mode, it accelerates the pace of economic development, making it easier for the government to spend on education, health care, employment generation, infrastructure and the overall welfare of the people.
• Increased tax collections lead to the reduction and simplification of the tax structure.
• Transfer of monetary benefits to the poor and the needy through bank transfer rules out their exploitation by the unscrupulous middlemen.
• Cashless transactions deal a body blow to counterfeit currency or distribution of black money through Hawala channels. It also cuts the supply of unaccounted money used in the funding of criminal and terrorist activities.
• It saves the government substantial costs in printing and circulation of currency notes.
• Increased liquidity of money with the banks makes them lower their interest rates puts the huge amounts of cash deposited with them to some productive use.

Conclusion: A part of the Digital India program, the concept of cashless economy in India is centered around the vision of transforming the country into a society, which is digitally enabled and empowered by several modes of cashless transactions. Consequently, digital modes like credit/debit cards, mobile wallets, banks pre-paid cards, UPI, AEPS, USSD, Internet banking, etc have gained in currency, leading to cashless India in near future.