Cashless Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in India

Abstract

India's black money, estimated by the World Bank in 2010 was about one fifth of official GDP. To curb the shadow economy, corruption and to push the country towards more transparent system, Indian government opted for demonetization and cashless economy drive. Is a country like India having banking penetration of just 53% (2014) and internet penetration of 34%, be able to go cashless. This paper deals with the concept of cashless system, various opportunities, challenges and problems of being cashless. This paper also suggests some recommendations for smooth implementation of cashless system and how this transformation will contribute to India in future. The objective of the paper is to observe the potentialities of a cashless economy, challenges faced and to suggest various ways to ease this process.