Mann Ki Baat: Expressing satisfaction over the decline in cash payments during the festive season, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to make payments only through UPI or any digital medium and not use cash for a month. He also urged people to share their experiences and photos after one month.
The Prime Minister said that this is the second year in which the practice of paying in cash has decreased slowly on the occasion of Diwali. He said that this is very encouraging.
PM Modi urges to make digital payment
"Another big trend has been seen during this festive season. This is the second consecutive year when the trend of buying some goods through cash payments on the occasion of Deepawali is gradually on the decline. That means people are making more and more digital payments now. This is also very encouraging. You can do one more thing. Decide for yourself that for one month you will make payments only through UPI or any digital medium and not through cash. The success of the digital revolution in India has made this absolutely possible. And when one month is over, please share your experiences and your photos with me. I wish you all the best in advance from now itself," he said.
PM Modi on ‘Vocal for Local’
Prime Minister Modi lauded ‘Swacch Bharat Abhiyan’ and ‘Vocal for Local’ campaigns. He highlighted that many transformations in India are being led by the 140 crore people of the country. He said a direct example of this was seen during this festive season when people opted to buy local products and went ‘Vocal for Local’.
"Within the last few days, business worth more than Rs. 4 lakh crore has been done in the country on Diwali, Bhaiya Dooj and Chhath. During this period, tremendous enthusiasm was seen among the people to buy products Made in India. Now even our children, while buying something at the shop, have started checking whether Made in India is mentioned on them or not. Not only that, but nowadays, people do not forget to check the country of origin while purchasing goods online," said PM Modi.
The Prime Minister said just as the very success of 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' is becoming its inspiration, the success of ‘Vocal For Local’ is opening the doors to a ‘Developed India - Prosperous India’
He went on to add that this campaign of ‘Vocal For Local’ strengthens the economy of the entire country and is a guarantee of employment, and development. "The Vocal For Local campaign is a guarantee of employment. This is a guarantee of development; this is the guarantee of balanced development of the country. This provides equal opportunities to both urban and rural people. This also paves the way for Value Addition in local products, and if ever, there are ups and downs in the global economy, the mantra of Vocal For Local also protects our economy," he added.
Prime Minister Modi emphasised on the point that this sentiment towards Indian products should not be limited to festivals only. He said that the wedding season has commenced and some trade organizations estimate that there could be a business of around Rs 5 lakh crore during this wedding season. He urged people to give importance to products Made in India as they shop during the wedding season.
UPI use in India
India is the only country where a cashless payment facility is available through UPI. Rather, it is a must to mention that India itself started the culture of cashless payment. It was to his surprise too when he was introduced to the cashless payment service which was being used by almost everyone in the country and further praised the facility.
Digital payment methods are gaining momentum in India, with a recent survey reporting that 42 per cent of consumers plan to use the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for their online festive shopping. Additionally, 57 per cent of respondents indicated that they prefer UPI for earning rewards and cashback, particularly during the festive season, according to the report conducted by Nielsen Media India on behalf of Amazon India.
