THE GOAN SPECIAL
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STARTING POINTS
* Panaji
* Margao
* Vasco
* Ponda
* Mapusa
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MISSION 'CASHLESS'
* Nearly four teams of three to four members each will go around in the markets educating market traders
* They will be taught different modes for cashless transactions including the Unified Payment Interface (UPI)
* Every team will comprise of a government official, a banker and a representative of market committee
* Panaji, Margao markets will be covered on Nov 29; Ponda and Vasco on Nov 30 and Mapusa on Dec 1 and 2
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The markets in Goa's main cities of Panaji, Margao, Vasco, Ponda and Mapusa would be the first five launch pads from where the state government will take off on its mission for making Goa a cashless economy. The government officials, along with bank officials will be on four-day awareness spree at these five markets from November 29 to December 2.
Nearly four teams of three to four members each will go around in the markets educating market traders, vegetable and fruit vendors and fishermen, among others on using different modes for cashless transactions including the Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
Every team will comprise of a government official, a banker and a representative of market committee. While Panaji and Margao markets will be covered on November 29, Ponda and Vasco will be covered on November 30 and Mapusa market on December 1 and 2.
At a meeting of bankers at the State Bank of India’s zonal office in St Inez, Panaji on Sunday, the banks have been asked to hold awareness camps to maximise penetration into these markets so as to cover most of the people on a digital platform.
Speaking to media persons, HDFC Bank Vice President “ Cluster Head Ajit Dalvi said, “The programme focuses on educating market vendors on digitisation. Unless we educate, it is not easy for them to change from cash transactions to digitisation. We have products which can be offered to every customer like debit and credit cards or Mobile Point of Sale (MPOS) machines which come with very reasonable rates to the customer. We will try to give them live demonstrations on how these can be used and the benefits they will get with it.”
Additionally, the State Government has asked the bankers - nationalised and private commercial “ to issue at least 100 MPOS machines to various customers within the next 3-4 days. On an average, each the MPOS machine will cost a monthly rental of Rs 100-150 to the customer.
Asked on the coverage the bank is looking at, he said, “Before this process was initiated, there were almost 3,000 establishments already on POS or MPOS. In the last 20-odd days there are over 100 people who have come to us asking for machines which we have started issuing.”
He, however, informed that apart from the five markets, they also have plans to visit smaller villages with the assistance of panchayats and local bodies to create awareness about digitisation.
Meanwhile, the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) held a workshop for its staff, contractors and consultants aiming at encouraging consultants and contractors to shift to electronic payments to sub-contractors and labourers using more convenient modes. The workshop covered topics of transacting online and via mobile phones through the UPI application, security measures and the implementation processes.
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... That includes liquor dealers, too
KARAN SEHGAL
Yes, we are meeting bankers and also manufacturers and distributors of alcohol to find the possibility of making their transactions cash-less
- Menino D’Souza, Excise Commissioner
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Goa's alcohol industry may have been dealt with a hard 'kick' due to the cashless route that is being charted, the state excise department is swift to react and is meeting alcohol manufacturers and distributors to ensure that their transactions are paid through electronic medium without the necessity of cash.
As of now, when manufacturers or distributors of alcohol make sales to retailers, the payment is sometimes made online, but sometimes is through cash. This leaves the scope for unaccounted money coming into system.
Menino D’Souza, excise commissioner, said, “Yes, we are meeting bankers and also manufacturers and distributors of alcohol to find the possibility of making their transactions cash-less. We will speak to retailers as well at a later stage.”
These efforts are in continuation of a high-profile meeting convened by union defence minister Manohar Parrikar last week to make Goa a cashless economy.
D’Souza also said that a point-of-sales (POS) system is likely to get implemented so that business-to-business alcohol transactions are cash-less.
Meanwhile, sources also revealed that other tax departments are also meeting businessmen to promote the cause of cash-less transactions.
In fact, in Goa, online system exists for payment of several taxes. For example, the excise department implemented a payment gateway two years back so that businessmen can pay their excise duty online without having the hassle of physically approaching either the excise department or banks.
These are all attempts to tackle the menace of black money. Ever since Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, announced demonetisation on November 08th, efforts are on to weed out unaccounted cash by making transactions online.
