Senior government officials in Puducherry called upon the traders to switch to online transactions and embrace the change the demonetisation has brought in.
In an awareness programme on digital payment organised by Puducherry Lead Bank along with Commercial Tax Department and Municipalities held on Thursday, V. Candavelou, Secretary (Finance), Government of Puducherry, said: “We are facing a temporary cash crunch. At this point, the traders should feel confident. Now, the time has come to bring some changes. The government is doing electronic cash transfer to pay salaries for the government servants. The fund for the beneficiaries of pension schemes had been sent electronically to their accounts.”
He added that there was an online portal system for the citizens to pay taxes as well. “We are mentally used to the cash transaction. We should change our attitude to use electronic mode. Traders have started shifting to electronic mode of transfer. This gives an opportunity to move forward and shift to the new regime at the shortest possible time. We need to reinvent ourselves to the new regime. Be prepared for the Goods and Services Tax,” said Mr. Candavelou.
Chief Secretary Manoj Parida stressed that everyone had to keep pace with the changes. “Initially, there will be resistance to anything new. We are passing from hard currency to plastic currency to remove black money. It is important we take advantage of this. There is no going back. Each family in Puducherry has a bank account and with the passage of time we can make this demonetisation a success,” he said.
Mr. Parida appealed to the traders and general public to come forward to make forward and make it a success.
Addressing the risks involved in online transactions, Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Ranjan detailed about the cyber crime and precautions that need to be taken.
He said that people should ensure that they did not share their PIN numbers or CVV number with anyone. “People accessing ATM machines to withdraw money should ensure that there is complete privacy around them and there are no additional devices attached to the ATM,” he said. He informed that people should be aware of the cyber crimes and take steps to ensure safe online transaction.
At least five point-of-sale machines were distributed among the traders.
Anbu Kamaraj, District Manager, Lead Bank, said they were coordinating with the banks in Puducherry to distribute nearly 5,000 point of sale machines to the traders. “It will be distributed free of rent and charges up to March,” he added.
