Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said India should embrace digital economy at their own pace.
Indians should not be forced to go cashless despite the government's laudable efforts to root out black money - this was the take of Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh who was awarded a Nobel Peace prize for pioneering the concept of microcredit and microfinance.
Speaking to NDTV on the sidelines of 104th Indian Science Congress regarding the government's notes ban and the efforts to push for cashless transactions to bring transparency into the system, Mr Yunus lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's war on black money. But the Prime Minister, he said, "should not force Indians to go cashless... Let Indian people embrace the digital economy at their own pace".
Mr Yunus, who was felicitated by PM Modi at the conclave, however, added, "The die has been cast and demonetisation cannot be undone... The right environment has been created for India to slowly move towards a less cash society".
Cashless transactions became crucial following the government's mega assault on black money with the ban on high denomination 500 and 1,000 rupee notes. As 86 per cent money went out of circulation overnight, a gigantic cash crunch followed, which could be countered only by increasing the quantum of cashless transactions. For the poor, it had proved a challenge.
India, Mr Yunus said, needs to create a suitable fintech infrastructure that caters to the poor. He said he was willing to collaborate in what PM Modi called his "shudhi yagna" by making digital transactions easier for the poor. The poor, he said, "can be job creators and not just job seekers".
The Grameen Bank, started by Mr Yunus, is highlighted as a classic success story in mainstreaming the poor into the nation's economy. The bank and its founder had received a joint Nobel prize in 2006 for their efforts to create "economic and social development from below".
Parallel efforts have been on in India through the government's zero balance Jan Dhan accounts which were intended for the financial inclusion of the poor. On December 31, the government had launched the BHIM app, which could be used to conduct cashless transactions by anyone possessing a bank account and an Aadhar Unique Identity card.