If the State government expects everyone right from a big manufacturer to a small-time trader to go cashless for all business transactions, then there is a compelling case for all departments of the government to go cashless too.
Several departments of the State government have urged businessmen and common people to go cashless, but their repeated requests to do so will only get more credibility if they go cashless first.
It is evident to anyone that the government is a large part of our lives. Whether you have to pay for utilities like water and power or get any government licence, you have to go to a department and stand in a queue, which is because most such transactions can be done only in cash.
It is true that certain government departments have got online portals to help people make payments of bills. But, even in such cases, the number of people using these portals is abysmally low.
For example, less than 5% consumers of electricity pay their bills online. This is because making cash payments is not part of our culture.
This culture will change only when government takes a lead and goes cashless first by installing swipe machines and other ways of making cashless payments at all its departments.
