How long has it been since Demonetization ? 4 months!
Apart from the politics of Demonitization, taking credit or transferring blame or disowning it, we’ve seen quite a lot. In the years since this government came to power with a whopping majority, this has been the biggest move by them, before GST ‘kick’ed in.
So, what were the immediate effects of Demonitization?
No Discrimination: There wasn’t any discrimination in how people suffered. Sure, it varied, if one had jugaad or the lack of it.
Increased Awareness: More than anything demonetization gave us a lot of awareness. I had hardly bothered about knowing how much a card swipe actually cost! The hidden charges were finally out in the open and when I finally added it all up. Woah!
Savings Opportunity: I realized why people say that paying with cash helps in keeping track of your money. I guess we aren’t as ‘digitally sound’ as we’d like to be. Stopped spending
Increased Patriotism: What numerous JP Dutta movies couldn’t do, Demonitization and their fans surely have. Standing in line like how the Jawans at the border, gives me a similar feeling. I mean, if they are not complaining, why should we? Can we not do just this?
Becoming Responsible: Before “D” happened, I hardly used to carry cash. No, not because of “making India a cashless economy” but just out of laziness. I mean, who’ll go to ATMs, unless there’s an urgent need! Over the months, I’ve become responsible. I now keep extra cash with me, just in case I run out of it, and the ATM sign says, “No Cash”!
Knowing your neighborhood: And now, I know the locations of innumerable ATMs spread across Kormangala that I can give you directions to it sitting at home. I should thank my landlord for accepting only cash payments for gaining this much knowledge.
Still, old habits die hard, right? Today, when the POS machine failed while paying at a restaurant, I had to shell out the entire cash out of my wallet. Probably I’ll have to visit the ATM soon, as the guy down the street selling groceries who was advertising, “PAYTM accepted” a few weeks back, says, “Bhaiya, Cash dena hota”.