A great change is coming in the economic affairs of the country as the government has introduced Digital money e-Rupee. Digital currency is like a mega project. There is a difference of opinions among economic experts. The government has the answers but people fear that what will the transaction be like without money? People have accepted the changes in various fields due to the digital age and are feeling well by using it in daily life. People at every stage eventually welcome changes. Today even narrow-minded people are transacting online.
Now, ever since the government has started talking about digital rupees, there has been an uproar among people. Many are scaring people by comparing it with demonetization. People are very cautious about financial transactions. That is why people were staying away from cryptocurrency. Yes, people have trusted UPI payments.
As long as the administration of the digital rupee is with the Reserve Bank, people can trust it, but if it is a matter of disappearing the physical form of rupees for financial transactions that have been going on for years, it is not digestible to the people.
The Reserve Bank is about to stop printing new rupees and digitize everything. It has many benefits for the government. As duplicate notes will stop circulating, there will be no cost to the government to print notes and terrorist activities will stop receiving money. Apart from this, the government will have a direct eye on every transaction.
People are already working with the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) system. Now, the government wants to introduce the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDS) or e-Rupee. No one is opposed to the advent of digital currency, but people are afraid that the currency of rupees will be eliminated from daily transactions. The most confusing question in people’s minds is that when common people and business people have also adopted UPI, people are looking for what else is new in this new system. RBI Governor Shashikant Das said that the main difference between the two is that there will be no middlemen in e-rupee transactions. The Reserve Bank has said that people are fearing wrongly. All the decisions of the government are for the convenience of the people.
Whenever there is a new digital change, people get a bit hesitant and then they understand the system so they forget the traditional old system and adopt the new one. When it came to using ATM cards, people were afraid to use them. What is surprising today is that the credit card usage has also doubled. Today, when the talk of digital currency is new, it is still unclear in people’s minds that what will happen to our rupees? The Reserve Bank says your money is not going anywhere. It has to be converted into digital form only. There will be loose notes of 10, 100, 500 etc. but they can be transacted in digital form from mobile phone.
The cash we use today is provided by the Reserve Bank. Now, instead of this cash, the Reserve Bank will give digital rupees, which are called tokens. Currently our bank money transactions are done through Bank, UPI or cash which in future will be through Digital Rupees. As the common man understands, UPI is a transaction between two banks and the medium i.e. the platform is UPI. Whereas in Digital Currency there is no platform in between. It deals directly with the host.
At present, the customer can withdraw money from the Bank or ATM and use it wherever he wants. But now it is going to happen that no one will hold his cash. It is arranged that everyone has to use Digital currency in transactions. In the new system now, the withdrawal from the bank will be online which the customer can keep in his digital wallet. It is planned that digital currency can be used even where there is no internet. Under the government’s pilot project, e-Rupees will be available from four banks; State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, YES Bank and IDFC First Bank.
Digital currency has been used by Nigeria. As people use digital currency more, the Nigerian government has banned ATMs. There are many confusions in people’s minds. The economic sector is the backbone & lifeline of a particular country. Even though Digital Currency may be so wonderful, the government has to avoid taking unexpected steps. It must be a calculated step. Because the country has also seen and is suffering the adverse consequences of unexpected demonetisation although the intention of the government was good. The government will have to think in this direction only after taking the right guess on every aspect and the experts of every field. Because India is a country of people who believe in tradition, where the majority live in villages where the local economy is running through mostly in the unorganized sector only. Let not just the idea but its implementation and results too be fruitful. For this, cautious steps are crucial as any random change in the system could generate big turmoil which may take us far away more from the target we have set of becoming $ 5 Trillion in near future rather be it just like a reverie mere.
Kalpesh has a rich experience of 10 years of handling and leading various projects. He is an independent freelancer associated with Academic Institutions and Social Organizations. He can be mailed at kalpeshsavan@gmail.com
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