Demonetization led to great movement towards digitization: Arun Jaitley

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Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley on June 10, 2017 said the government was aware that demonetization would cause a cash crunch in India but had envisaged long-term advantages like “great and substantial” movement towards digitization of the economy. We were conscious of the fact that the demonetization, to the extent that it causes a cash crunch made temporarily for a quarter or two impact on us adversely. But there were some long-term advantages which were envisaged, Shri Jaitley told Bloomberg TV in an interview.

Asked whether demonetization has been a success, he said the first significant advantages that has taken place is that there is a great and a substantial movement towards digitization of the economy. “The use of cash relatively comes down, the use of other mode of payments increases. The second is, there is a substantial number of assesses who have been added,” Shri Jaitley said. He also said that he anticipates a substantial increase in the tax base. “I think the new normal has been established in India and a message is loud and clear that it’s no longer safe to deal substantially in cash,” said the finance minister.

He said, “I do believe that India has carried on a large number of structural reforms in the last few years”. “With the kind of structural reforms which are setting in, the kind of public expenditure and the foreign direct investment we are getting in, I do expect the growth to turn around and improve this year,” he said.