Demonetisation has swept the whole nation ever since its announcement day(8th November). All the states have cooperated with the PM’s vision of a Better India- be it through campaigns like ‘Digital India’ or ‘Cashless India’.
Rajasthan state stood out to support the Centre in accomplishing the Centre’s vision. Reiterating the centre’s vision of ‘Cashless India’, Rajasthan health department is encouraging women to open bank accounts. Women visiting primary health centres (PHCs) will have to open bank account to get assured incentives under plethora of social schemes initiated by the Rajasthan government.
The number of such transaction hiked at a proliferating growth of over 1,700% on a daily basis. Online transactions through the digital platform, E-mitra, too saw an up of nearly 203% in rural parts since the announcement for declaring high denomination notes illegal was made.
There has been a tremendous splurge not only in the usage of ‘E-mitra’ portal but PoS machines as well.
Over the last two years, the Rajasthan government has distributed a total of 47,000 PoS machines across the state, mostly in villages. Using this facility, villagers could withdraw cash as well as pay their utility bills, dues, college fees and even traffic challans.
According to officials, the total number of consumers withdrawing cash from the POS machines could have been higher if adequate liquidity was provided by banks.
In the coming days, we expect more people to avail the facilities of e-platform and move towards cashless transactions,”said an official from the department of information and technology (DoIT).“Rajasthan set up the required infrastructure for cashless economy two years back but failed to capitalize on it due to lack of awareness among masses,”the official informed.
E-mitra was developed by the state government. It offers 325 digital services. However, it is only after the demonetization decision, that the facility has become popular and has received massive traffic.
“In the form of PoS, we have 47,000 portable ATMs available across rural Rajasthan. Unfortunately, people are just not aware about it. Similarly, all major payments can be made through Emitra which through web, app and kiosk. Rajasthan has led in providing e-governance, but people should now adapt to new technologies,” added the official.
In an event in New Delhi on Tuesday, chief minister Vasundhara Raje emphasized the fact that Rajasthan has been supporting digital services for a long time. Raje said, “Rajasthan has been geared to become a cashless economy since 2006-2007. Direct benefit transfer, digital platforms have all been present. Rajasthan is on top of any state.”
