Cash to Cashless Economy: Shifting Paradigms

The Central Government of India has already expressed its intention of transforming the country into a less-cash economy. Having such an intention the government has started promoting digital payment in the country. Besides, the government and its departments have taken initiatives to make the country’s journey successful. The cash control by the Reserve Bank of India in the post-demonetization (2016) period was, perhaps, the most controversial drive towards the cashless economy. This initiative of the government was bitterly criticized on the ground that the country’s digital payment infrastructure remained under-developed. This paper attempts to analyze the status of cashless economy and its payment methods in India and highlights the reasons, benefits and worries of being cashless.