'Demonetisation's by-products could be valuable'

Reserve Bank of India's former Deputy Governor S.S. Mundra, on Tuesday said that the "by-products" of demonetisation could be "more avaluable" than the main objective behind the move.A

"In case of certain manufacturing industry we see that the by-products are more valuable than the main products. This can be compared to demonetisation," Mundra said on the sidelines of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, terming the key by-products of demonetisation digitisation, better tax compliance and bringing in more resources into the formal economy.A

Meanwhile, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, addressing the Chamber's AGM, said increase in agriculture loans to farmers in the state could be a "game changer".

He said the surge in agricultural loans was evident from the rise in Kisan credit cards given to them by the banks as well as loans extended to them.

However, Mundra disagreed, saying: "This is all good. But this cannot be a game-changer. This is all incremental and not a great leap forward."

He also emphasised on the need for aggregation of land holdings, introduction of contract farming and establishment of chain linkages to increase the farm growth.

--IANS

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