The weekend just gone by, was one when several Indian communities celebrated their New Year, which meant shopping, eating out and parties with friends and family. But with ATMs having gone dry for more than a week now, the luster of the festivities were obviously dimmed to some extent and people were reminded of the 2016 cash crunch period in the event of sudden demonetization. Is this really how the Government is trying to make India cashless (ATMs without cash)?! Is this really how Modi visualizes his “Digital India”?
Even I have been a victim to this lately when I went out to buy medicines for my acute toothache. The card payment machine of the nearby medicine store was out of order and I was out of cash. There are 5 ATM kiosks, of nationalized as well as private banks, in the vicinity, and all 5 of them were out of cash. So, I had to walk about half a mile to get the medicines from a different store using my card to pay. Here I had an option, but there might be people in emergency, without a second option, as we also hear that rural areas are the most affected places. Places where many people are not technologically sound enough to adopt cashless transactions.
Have reviewed the currency situation in the country. Over all there is more than adequate currency in circulation and also available with the Banks. The temporary shortage caused by ‘sudden and unusual increase’ in some areas is being tackled quickly.
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) April 17, 2018
People need immediate cash for their daily groceries, emergency medicines, school fees and several other obvious reasons and this acute shortage can land them in real trouble! Some of the most affected states are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. While our Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has dismissed the issue saying that this cash crisis is “temporary” and “sudden and unusual” rise in demand of cash in certain areas is the reason for this, how long this “temporary” actually means, is an issue we really need to ponder upon.
How long does a serious patient need to wait for this “temporary” cash crunch so that he or she can get treated?
Well, the SBI has reportedly stated that it would take a week to restore normalcy. But, for someone in serious need of urgent cash, a week can even cost a lifetime. When circulation of cash is not the issue as confirmed by the authorities, it is quite obvious that the Government has to bear the brunt of affected citizens and the opposition in such a situation.
There used to be dry days for alcohol. Now there are dry days for cash. #CashCrunch
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) April 17, 2018
The long queues in front of ATMs obviously remind us of the demonetization days. No wonder people have trolled the situation and poured out their anger on their social pages.
With several bank frauds already coming to the fore, and now this sudden cash shortage, it seems Modi Government needs to really gear up their financial operations, because this is definitely not the way we can achieve the goal of “cashless” India.
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