Teen Point of View

How prepared is rural India for a cashless economy?

FEBRUARY 2017 TOPIC: How prepared is rural India for a cashless economy?

The idea of a cashless economy will contribute significantly to the development of India. But rural India, i.e., half or more of the population, is not fully equipped for a cashless economy. The government hasn’t done enough to provide effective internet facilities. The older generation is largely uneducated. They don’t have the required knowledge of online cash transactions and could become easy targets for cheating and manipulation. Added to that, in politically disturbed areas like Kashmir (where majority live in rural area), because of frequent ban on internet, cashless transaction becomes impossible. So, in a nutshell, before implementing such law, government has to find solutions for such problems. Only then it can prove to be a boon for the people.
Anam Chowdhury (19)
St Joseph’s Hr Sec School, Baramulla, J&K

I appreciate the idea of going cashless, because this would save at least few million trees which would be used for currency notes, every year. Thus going cashless will be very beneficial to our environment. But our country’s major population lives in the rural India. The uneducated villagers are not yet ready to go cashless. Cyber crime will increase tenfold and the chances are the cunning people will exploit the villagers. Hence the rural India may not be ready for going cashless. But it’s not impossible. We can consider this option in the near future.
Sakina Dudhwala (17)
Nirmala Niketan College of Home Science, Mumbai

Rural India is not yet ready, to be honest, for a cashless economy! Because even though the society is upgraded to smart phone devises and other e-facilities in cities; it’s really a herculean task for anyone to make India a 100% cashless society overnight. But I don’t think it will take much time; maybe maximum another 2 more decades and India could be ready.
Milan Patel
Saranathan College of Engineering, Tiruchirappalli

There are many problems to be settled for a smooth switch over to cashless economy in rural India. Firstly many people cannot access the bank because of the distance. It is hard for people who are illiterate to fill forms in banks. Another big problem is non-availability of required technology. The state of cyber security in our country is also a point of concern. Going cashless needs protection against fraud and needed technology in every rural sector.
Areefa Ali (17)
Sophia Sr Sec. School, Ajmer

Since few weeks, ‘demonetisation’ has become the most frequently used word by many in this country. I feel the rural India is not yet prepared to accept cashless economy wholly, because the people have to be taught how to use technology or make transactions online. With no other option left, the people in rural sector will face some teething problems in the initial stage, but it’s better late than never. The task of digitalising rural India is not impossible, but challenging. Cash and cashless transaction can complement each other for the time being.
Utkarshini Rajput (18)
R.A. Podar College, Matunga

Taking into consideration the literacy rate and the unemployment in the country, most of the people are well below the poverty line and are living in rural areas for their livelihood. People are still not aware of the basic government policies aimed at rural areas. A fast growing technology will not only make their lives difficult but also take away their basic livelihood. In order to move towards a ‘cashless economy’ in the rural areas, we need education, basic facilities and awareness of the technological developments. Until then ‘cashless economy in rural India’ will remain just a dream.
Harshita Sood
Miranda House, University of Delhi  

I think rural India is not fully prepared for a cashless economy. 20% of rural population in India is unaware of what is cashless! Almost everyone in this era has mobiles. People who are mobile-savvy, are most supportive of a cashless economy. For such a changeover, rural India should get time to prepare for it with necessary facilities, so that nobody will blame government. So according to me the rural population is not yet ready for a cashless economy as of today.
Sejal Shingne (15)
Fatima Convent School, Achalpur

Cashless economy is like a daydream, and it cannot come true in decades. Very simple and clear reasons are that a major part of the population is living in rural India; most of them are illiterate, and unable to use even paper system properly. Even a few of the educated lack knowledge of e-transactions and are confused, while others are afraid of cyber crimes and unable to trust the cashless system. And above all, in rural India, several places do not have access to internet. Hence it’s very clear that thinking of a cashless economy in India is like shaking a tree believing that it will fall down.
Adhyaru Vrutti M. (21)
Surendranagar, Gujarat

I think that the rural India is not sufficiently prepared for the cashless economy. Because, though we became Independent in 1947, even now there are many people not having a full meal a day, clean water, decent clothing, housing and proper education and so on. Therefore, I strongly believe that when all these basic needs of the people are met then we can think of cashless economy in India. This is what I would like to suggest to the government as well.
Ezekiel S. (21)
Christ College, Pune

Cashless economy is one of the current issues debated across the nation. But with respect to our Indian economy, especially our rural economy, I don’t think it is well prepared for a cashless economy. There are still problems in rural India which go unsolved. It will take time to develop fully the rural economy, and solve problems like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, lack of basic facilities, etc. If the government wants to make the rural economy a cashless one then the government should provide the basic facilities to them.
Senjuti Saibal Bhattacharya (17)
St Joseph’s High School & Jr. College, Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai

Cashless economy… and India, that too with the rural side of it — if analysed properly, it’s a great idea and if worked properly India can witness great heights of success and development. But to reach those great heights we require great preparations and smart work. Taking into consideration rural India, we can say that people have access to gadgets but don’t know to use them in a proper way. So the need of the hour is initiatives aimed at helping them to use the basic applications of these gadgets to become part of cashless economy.
Bhavpreeta Verma (17)
St Angela Sophia School, Jaipur

After the bold and risky step of demonetization, the government’s initiatives have been focused on promoting e-payments and cashless economy. But, is India ready for it? A major obstacle in adopting the alternate mode of payment is that the rural population does not have access to internet facilities. Other obstacles are low literacy rate, non-availability of electricity and millions who don’t have a bank account. It may take more than a generation to change the habit of cash to cashless transactions. A gradual move towards cashless economy would be the right way forward.
Ananya Srivastava (14)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria

No, the rural area is not prepared for cashless economy. Many people living in villages don’t have the knowledge of credit card, debit card, mobile banking, etc. Nearly 40 crore people living in villages don’t have any bank account, many villages do not have internet facilities, and there are very few banks and ATMs in villages. For India to become a cashless nation our government has to build more banks and ATMs in villages, educate people about credit cards, debit cards, mobile banking, e-wallet, Paytm, etc., and provide internet facilities in villages. If the government had done the homework, the rural area could have been prepared for a cashless economy.
Prashant Shekhar (11)
Nav Jeevan Mission School, Deoria

After demonetization of 500 and 1000 rupees notes the central government came up with the idea of cashless transactions. Rural India is not yet prepared for the cashless economy due to the unavailability of basic facilities. Each village should be facilitated with banks and educated about their functions, because three-fourth of the rural people do not have even a bank account. They should be provided with debit and credit cards and be instructed how to use them. They should have smart phones and internet facilities to use various apps for transactions. All these basic needs should be provided to have cashless economy in the rural areas.
Hima G. Raj (15)
Stella Maris High School, Bengaluru

Hot discussions and debates are going on among the political parties about the feasibility of a cashless economy in India. Nearly 70% of the country’s population lives in rural areas and majority of them are illiterate. So it is very difficult for them to understand digital procedures that are required for cashless economy. There is a need for proper awareness among them and there are many obstacles as well. The major issue is lack of knowledge about social media and digital transactions. Trust factor is also an issue as many people do not trust digital transactions. They have more trust on banks and cash business. India has a long way to go before becoming a digitally transacting country.
Akarsh Shukla (13)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria