Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that for the next 100 days, 15,000 people who made digital transactions would get Rs 1,000 cashback in a daily lucky draw. He said that there will also be a weekly draw for which the prize money will run into lakhs. The lucky draw will be held in 100 cities under the Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojana.
He also thanked the public for “enduring pain” and answering those who “misled them” regarding the move to demonetise high-value currency in India. In his final Mann ki Baat radio address this year, Modi said that he has received a lot of feedback about the decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
“Many are writing to me: Modiji thak mat jaana, rukk mat jaana aur jitna kathor kadam utha sakte ho uthao [Do not tire or stop, but take the harshest measures you need to]”. The Centre had cited cracking down on black money and counterfeit notes as the reason for the move. However, the decision has been heavily criticised by the Opposition and well-known economists, and has led to a severe cash shortage in the country. He said, “I want to congratulate my countrymen for one thing. You can see that people are being caught with black money and it is because of the aware citizens who are sharing such information with us.”
In his Mann ki Baat address, Modi also said that he had wanted to discuss the matter in Parliament, but Opposition parties did not let the House run during the Winter Session. Opposition parties including the Congress had raised an uproar in both Houses for much of the month-long session that ended last week.
The prime minister, once again, promoted switching to cashless transactions. He said that 30 crore people in the country had RuPay cards, adding that 20 crore of those were from “poor families”, ANI reported. He said that cashless transactions have increased 200-300% recently. The Centre has heavily promoted payment via cashless transactions after it demonetised the country’s two highest-value currency notes on November 8.
The Centre had been making modifications based on feedback received, hence there were several changes in notifications from the Reserve Bank of India after demonetisation was announced, Modi said, adding that the government was formulating strict laws. “Because of the constant efforts of our countrymen, India is growing on various economic parameters,” he said, citing reports from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
He ended his radio address by wishing the public a happy new year and congratulating Indian sportspersons in the light of India’s win against England in cricket, and the junior hockey team winning the world cup.
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