Coercion doesn't pay

Govt must learn from the dip in digital transactions

The announcement that curbs on cash withdrawals from savings accounts will be lifted on March 13 implies that the remonetisation of the economy will be nearing completion by then. The common citizen will certainly heave a sigh of relief after enduring 18 weeks of cash crunch. In this course of time, the government presented various reasons for initiating demonetisation but finally settled on transforming India into a cashless economy. The government has backed it up in every possible way — from banning cash transactions above Rs 3 lakh to incentivising digital modes of payment. One of the key assumptions of