In a move to promote cashless transactions, the government has asked NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha to address all the States’ District Magistrates (DMs) and District Commissioners (DCs) to popularise the concept and prepare the infrastructure.
“NITI Aayog CEO and Cabinet Secretary have been asked to address all the DMs and DCs of the States on how to promote digital cash (cashless transactions) and how to prepare the infrastructure on an urgent basis.
“They will interact with these DMs and DCs tomorrow (Friday) and day after (Saturday) through video conferencing,” a government official said.
The official said Urban Development Secretary Rajiv Gauba will also be part of the interaction with State officials on Saturday.
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) will be making all the arrangements for video conferencing from a centralised location on Thursday night, the official added.
Since the Prime Minister’s announcement on demonetisation on November 8, the PMO has held several meetings to discuss ‘how to promote cashless transactions’ and the kind of infrastructure needed, especially in the rural areas, sources said.
While in urban areas, people are using payment gateways such as Paytm, Oxigen and Mobikwik, in rural areas there are fewer mechanisms so the government wants to encourage these gateways to pave the way for a cashless economy.