No plan to scrap cheque books: Finance ministry

New Delhi: The finance ministry on Thursday said there is no proposal to withdraw the bank cheque book facility, which is an integral part of the payments landscape. The clarification comes in the backdrop of reports in a certain section of media that there is a possibility that the government may withdraw bank cheque book facility in the near future, with an intent to encourage digital transactions.

The finance ministry on Thursday denied reports that the Modi government is going to ban bank cheque facility in coming days to encourage digital transactions.

In a tweet, the finance ministry said, “The government of India has reaffirmed that there is no proposal under consideration to withdraw the bank cheque book facility.”

The report had created panic among some businesses on how large transactions will be done if there is no other alternative set up before banning cheque books.

Many businesses depend on cheques for their day to day business. “It had appeared in a certain section of media that there is a possibility that the central government may withdraw bank cheque book facility in the near future, with an intent to encourage digital transactions. This has been denied by the government and reaffirmed that there’s no such proposal," added the tweet.

Last year in November government had undertaken demonetisation of old ` 500 and ` 1,000 currency notes to curb black money and push digital transactions in the country. However, after reaching a peak during demonetisation, cashless transactions have recently seen a fall.

Many experts had termed the concept to ban bank cheques to encourage cashless transaction as a bad idea. It was pointed out that digital payments are not as famous in a lot of sections of the country.

EXPERTS POINTED out that digital payments are not as famous in a lot of sections in the country