The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
No dip in demand or an agrarian crisis post demonetisation: FM
‘Digitisation has created newer technologies, newer form of electronic modes of payments’
‘DIGITISATION PICKED UP’
FINANCE MINISTER Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the result of demonetisation has proved critics wrong as neither the national income nor agricultural output suffered. He said the debate over the political cost of economic reforms has died down with the benefits reaching poorer sections of the society.
On the government’s decision to withdraw 86 per cent of the currency comprising old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000, Jaitley said the decision did not lead to 2 per cent reduction in the gross domestic product as was projected by some critics.
“There was no disappearance ofdemand.therewasnoagrarian crisis. In fact, the agriculture sowing went up. And suddenly you found the whole debate in this country taking a new turn. I am personallyverygladthatsomeobsolete ideas are clashing with some newer ones,” he said at an ICICI Bank event to dedicate 100 digital villages to the country.
Jaitley said he expects other banks to follow the ICICI Bank’s initiative to improve digital banking transactions in the villages. One of the fascinating features of India is that “our people are extremely flexible in adapting to newer technologies,” he said. “One great advantage of this whole exercise (demonetisation) was the movement towards digitisation. And movement towards digitisation itself has created newer technologies, newer form of electronic modes of payments.”
Noting that there has been a debate going on for the last 26 years as to whether economic reforms have a political cost, he said it is being realised that the reforms have now started benefiting rural population. “I think one of the learning experiences has been that the advantage of that reform will reach the rural people. That’s the fundamental change taking place today,” he said. He said the debate on reforms having political costs is disappearing as the benefits reach the masses. “The advantages of the additional resources available with the state and of the entire economic activity also is reaching the village itself and therefore when that segment of society feelsthattheyhavebeenincluded in the process, the whole debate that the reform has political cost itself is dissipating,” he said.
He said the debate on digitisation will also settle in due course. “If somebody would say that electronic (voting) machines are terrible and we must go back to paper, we will eventually (know) what the conclusion of this debate is going to be. Or that cash currency is superior to any form of digitisation or for that matter arbitrary selection of individual is better than unique identity. It would not be hard to guess who eventually will be the winner in this argument,” he said, without elaborating.