CAIT CALLS FOR LESS CASH ECONOMY INSTEAD OF CASH LESS

CAIT CALLS FOR LESS CASH ECONOMY INSTEAD OF CASH LESS

Vijyender Shaarma
SHIMLA----In the wake of recommendations of SIT on black money seeking a total ban on cash transaction of above Rs. 3 lakh and further recommending an upper limit of Rs.15 lakh for cash holding, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)  has urged Union Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley to undertake approach of "less cash economy" and not a "cash less economy" since much has to be done on the ground to go for cashless society. " Curbing black money is certainly an important issue and we support all move and action of the Government in this regard but beginning the move, the policies should be framed to have a less cash society first and later on the same can be moved to cashless society"-said the CAIT.

Commenting upon recommendations of SIT panel, both Mr. Bhartia & Mr. Khandelwal said that generation of black money should be plugged in the first instance and therefore there is a need to identify the sources of black money generation. Any ban on cash consumption without restricting its sources of generation will prove to be much counterproductive. Further, the existing provisions of Income Tax & other Acts bestow sufficient powers on the administrative officials to check black money consumption. It is an admitted fact that stills a large population in the Country still devoid of banking services and lack of bank access. Further, a large chunk of the population is still uneducated and needs to be imparted proper education about electronic payments .Imposing blanket ban on cash transactions at the primary stage will be a regressive move. Both leaders advocated the need of a moral campaign among the people.

They further said that the Government in association with stakeholders & consumers should launch a national awareness campaign about the need and importance of electronic payments and less cash society and to encourage them to adopt digital payments voluntarily rather under the arm of any law.

The CAIT said that benefits of a less cash society are well known in the form of its positive effects on economic growth as a result of increased trade and the opportunities to promote financial inclusion. However, despite these known advantages, cash still dominates in India. Continued high cash usage has its ill effects in the form of shadow economy which hurts the ability of governments to efficiently collect tax revenues. Additionally, the rise of cyber-crime and growing concerns about the ability of governments to look through digital records adds to the unwillingness of many with criminal intent to let go of cash. While benefits of digital payments are widely understood, the growth in acceptance infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth in cards and as such the Government should also concentrate its focus on acceptance infrastructure as well.

**VijyenderSharma*, Press Correspondent Bohan Dehra Road  JAWALAMUKHI-176031, Kangra HP(INDIA)*
 
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