Demonetisation will boost digital economy: Nandan Nilekani

Former Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, Nandan Nilekani, has said the demonetisation "shock given to the currency" will boost digital economy.

"The fact is that we have had a shock given to the currency system and, in my view, this will boost digital economy," said Nilekani, who was in a conversation with Nalin Mehta at Times Lit Fest here on Saturday.

The former Infosys chief executive also went on to add that since there is a "loss in the confidence that people had in physical currency", they will surely look for and adopt other alternatives.

Asked by the audience to respond on the problems being faced by the people in rural areas particularly, Nilekani said he would not comment on the political decision but on the merit of the project.

"I know that there are some problems and there is going to be problems for some time but over the past seven years we have already created a system to digitise our economy," said Nilekani.

He also said that although "pain" will remain for sometime but the extent of digitisation that will happen over the next three months would have otherwise taken three years.

Nilekani added that the "need of the hour" should be "cashless payments to merchants", which will go a long way in boosting digital economy.

He also expressed hope that the government will increase the number of micro-ATMs in the country.

Asked to comment on whether the NDA government had carried on his Aadhar legacy and packaged it as their own, Nilekani said the success of the project was important.

"I think I am happy that it has not only been accepted but also accelerated. My loyalty is to Aadhar. For me the success of Aadhar project is paramount", said Nilekani.