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PM Modi wants $400 bn Amazon-like market place for all govt purchases

BJP leaders and ministers have decided to take on the task of educating public on how to make digital payments

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI

BS Web Team New Delhi
While Opposition parties have been unanimous in their protest against NDA government's demonetisation move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his core team to extensively spread the message of his scheme's merits. He wants the public to know that 'demonetisation is aimed at improving the ordinary citizen’s life' and that its long-term target is to drain out black money and terror financing.

In his effort to drive cashless economy, Modi has decided to move all government purchases, from paper clips to power plant turbines, to an Amazon-like online marketplace that could eventually be worth a fifth of the country’s $2 trillion economy.
 
Currently the government uses a tender system to buy everything which then restricts buyers to local suppliers and may even result in price manipulation. The new system would allow vendors across India to bid for any government purchase.

The portal would be similar to Amazon and Snapdeal in look and design by allowing  users to choose from products listed alongside photos and detailed specifications. It even allows users to compare prices offered on the marketplace with those on rival websites, said Bloomberg.

According to the report, everyone using the portal is required to register their personal mobile phone numbers and Aadhaar biometric cards. The market’s user base is expected to rise to about 200,000 buyers. Currently there are 1,259 vendors selling 2,534 products  to more than 9,108 users across 469 registered government departments, Radha Chauhan, chief executive officer at India’s national e-governance division told Bloomberg.

What else does Prime Minister Narendra Modi want?

According to a report in Economic Times, Prime Minister has urged senior bureaucrats to reach out to small, informal groups and address them on the social and cultural benefits of demonetisation.

He asked them to enlighten the public on how cashless economy can disincentivise criminal activities like narco trade, bribery, capitation fee, human trafficking, thieving, et al. Moreover, less cash in circulation can prevent cases of dowry harassment and other social evils. 

According to the ET report, while addressing the bureaucrats, Modi said, "Let's make the country a better place for our children, better than what we inherited."

Officers at joint secretary level have been asked to patiently answer questions on digital payment.

Learn and educate move by BJP leaders:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and ministers too have decided to take on the task of educating public on how to make digital payments.

Many of the volunteers are themselves not adept at this, however, Niti Aayog officials will be training them on how to make cashless transactions by using software applications.

Policy think-tank NITI Aayog on Wednesday constituted a Committee of Chief Ministers and experts to script an action plan and draw up a roadmap to implement the digital payment systems across the country.

"The Committee will examine and implement measures for promoting the use of digital payment systems across the country and usher in transparency, financial inclusion and a healthy ecosystem," said an official statement here.

According to a report in Economics Times, BJP MPs will be visiting their respective constituencies and hold sessions with the public, demonstrating the use of digital payment modes.

Leaders like Maneka Gandhi and Ravi Shankar prasad have already prepared their roster and plan to visit their constituencies this week. Emphasis will be given on the need for Unified Payment Interface (UPI), e-wallets and SMS banking.

While India continues to be driven by the use of cash, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for cashless economy has been severely criticised by some economists, including Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen who has called Narendra Modi Government's demonetisation move "despotic action that has struck at the root of economy based on trust".

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First Published: Dec 01 2016 | 11:31 AM IST

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