Currency Demonetisation and Future course of Indian Economy

[shiv]

It seems to me that Modi's main focus are gareeb, pichhde & dalit. His every speech is incomplete by their mention. It's fine & yesterday's schemes targeting them & MSMEs are also fine, but what about the salaried middle class which has been solidly behind Modi? He started by saying that honest people will be rewared but I'm sure there are honest people in this country beyond senior citizens, pregnant women, farmers & MSME owners. Millions of people belonging to this class were hoping IT slab cuts especially by the trial balloon floated about new tax slabs only to be taken aback by the absence of any such measure in Modi's speech. GST is being delayed, work on the 4 lane road in my town is still to start after 2.5 years, no relaxation in IT rates, etc.. Maybe we all have too much individual hopes from the guy.

/rant off.

Agree with your points, although I will personally benefit from what Modi said. Don't forget that every time Modi mentioned gareeb, pichhde, peedith & dalit he always added "mahilayen" at the end. In words Modi is doing nothing that governments have not said for 70 years. Apart from mahila, every government invariably speaks for the same people - the gareeb the dalits etc. But no one has actually done anything for them.Modi will have to actually deliver if anything must change. However the signs that should get opponents worried is that he might really deliver although I bet my left testimonial that the opposition will only nitpick nonsensical stuff where delivery appears not to have happened - like deaths in ATM queues

As discussed time and again over honest people's cocktail parties - 60-80% of the "aid" to gareeb, pichhde & dalit is siphoned off because the money goes through so many intermediaries and has so far been designed to be delivered as cash. This is where Modi's ideas are disruptive, because he speaks of direct transfer to individual bank accounts. This also means that people who want to benefit will need to get a bank account.

While younger people struggling against interest rates for home loans were expecting a rate fall - the expected rate fall was seen as yet another blow by older people (who have actually experienced many such blows over decades". But Modi has taken care to increase rates for older people.

However a lot is now going to rest on how the banks deliver this. Even cash aid in the past was delivered via banks - so banks have been deeply involved in the siphoning of aid money in the past. With e-transfers this will get better - but misuse of bank accounts needs to be prevented. Aadhar liking is probably the way to go.

[Dumal]

Well SBI just dropped .9% in interest rates todin. Calculate reduction in emis on your home and auto loans you people.

Saari, that is only for new applications, older loans not changed with new rate. Please let me know if anybody got their decreased.

Don't think it's about new or old anymore. The base rate changes and any loan pegged on the base rate changes similarly.

[shiv]

Personally, I may be taking an HL shortly. So some benefit for me.

My mango views:

Home prices are going to increase a bit in the main cities if builders are ready to lower the costs. But most of the Builders are already sitting on overpriced inventory in the main cities like Mumbai and Delhi, and they are not going to start a trend of lowering the prices unless they are under pressure from their lenders and "investors". Since in many cases, the "investors" are mainly political leaders and big moneybags who are primarily looking for parking their ill-gotten BM they may not want to reduce the prices unless they are under pressure themselves. Moreover, there is not going to be many purchases for "investment" purpose now. Such a reduction of the rate of interest, therefore, may not stimulate demand to a large extent now.

In Bengaluru the property market is already a bubble - with more empty overpriced housing waiting for buyer-suckers than are needed, and yet more being built where people pay now and get caught paying money for homes that have not yet been built in areas that in Bangalore will typically have no roads and even less water supply.

For a place like Bengaluru where a young couple may come seeking work - it may make sense to seek rented accommodation and work for 10-15 years while planning eventual retirement in one's home two or village where property prices are not as vulgar as a open kinky sex act like in Bangalore. I know lots of home owners who rent out one home and live in another - or even rent out one to someone else and live close to work in rented accommodation. There are flats and residential complexes in Bangalore that simply do not make sense except for the people who have invested jet black money in acquiring them and the government officials who are hand in glove in giving permissions and changing land use. These mofos need to be nailed. There are not "big fish" . They are hundreds of small fish - like pirhanas.

[Yagnasri]

In Bangalore huge BM hoards are being deployed to keep the prices inflated at an express speed. It is the only city which has this price increase. No other city has such increase. Con Mafia rule may be one of the reason.

[Primus]

Checks are an utter disaster - don't even think about it. Cold cash is best

Agree, nothing like cold, hard cash

Leaning towards doing that, my first concern would be paying the taxiwallah from the airport to the hotel.

Sir, Hyd airport has prepaid cab facility at arrivals. They accept cards; You shouldn't have any problem paying with your international CC.
This prepaid cab is also more convenient, as the cab will pick you up directly from near the arrivals gate (Used to be this way a year or so back; likely to be same now also). Other cab options require you to walk to the taxi stand.

Other option you can consider is asking your hotel to send a cab to pick you up. May be they will charge a bit more but will save you the hassle of hailing a cab or finding cash.

Thanks, yes, there is a prepaid taxi at Delhi too, didn't know they take CCs.

For the remainder of my trip a friend has arranged a private taxi - I am assuming I will have to pay cash for that one.

Had a Peaceful Indian couple come into my office this week, we got talking about India and I said I was going to Hyd. They immediately took off about Modi and how he was causing so much pain and suffering to everyone and I should take a lot of care in how I was going to manage, since things are so terrible right now.

[Primus]

A silly question perhaps. Is there any value to taking USD as cash to India?

Some level of cash $s (under $50) are required to pay off the government registered touts at the airport since they do not accept INR. Beyond that a credit card with 0 foreign transaction fees works for most places. No need to deal with phone/SIM card hassles either, since your US phone number will seamlessly work in India.

I have never encountered any such touts in all my years of traveling to India. I have nothing to declare at customs either.

I will need an Indian phone since my AT&T rate is $.50 per minute in India. More importantly, anybody who calls me has to pay International rates on Indian phones. I have installed Whatsapp so should be able to talk from the hotel though.

[shiv]

My personal view of demonetization? Apart from an alarming decrease in patient footfall in hospital clinics it has left me virtually untouched. I had no old notes to exchange. I got away with withdrawing Rs 2000 on 4-5 occasions - only once from a bank queue. All my transactions have been digital,

Anyone who is interested in making this work - move to digital. If you are not interested - well - you can expect a cash crunch for another 1-2 months. Good time for opposition to say "fail fail fail". The greater the number of people who move to digital the lesser will be the cash crunch

[shiv]

My personal view of demonetization? Apart from an alarming decrease in patient footfall in hospital clinics it has left me virtually untouched. I had no old notes to exchange. I got away with withdrawing Rs 2000 on 4-5 occasions - only once from a bank queue. All my transactions have been digital,

Anyone who is interested in making this work - move to digital. If you are not interested - well - you can expect a cash crunch for another 1-2 months. Good time for opposition to say "fail fail fail". The greater the number of people who move to digital the lesser will be the cash crunch

[Marten]

We are trying to convince our maids to accept only bank transfers and use the ATMs as and when required. So that they can protect their savings from family members. It is currently difficult. Could someone please help with the sales pitch for JDY Bank account for such folks?

[Bart S]

Latest iteration of the Bhim app finally working for me. I transferred Rs 10 to myself

Did not change any settings, so must have been an issue or bug in the app that they fixed.

[chetak]

My personal view of demonetization? Apart from an alarming decrease in patient footfall in hospital clinics it has left me virtually untouched. I had no old notes to exchange. I got away with withdrawing Rs 2000 on 4-5 occasions - only once from a bank queue. All my transactions have been digital,

Anyone who is interested in making this work - move to digital. If you are not interested - well - you can expect a cash crunch for another 1-2 months. Good time for opposition to say "fail fail fail". The greater the number of people who move to digital the lesser will be the cash crunch

except for 100 Rs notes and below, the aam aadmi is taking no chances and is hoarding the new 500s Rs notes, preparing for GOK what calamity next, that his agile mind is able to conjure up.

luckily for me, the year end slack kicked in early and I have got by with very little cash in hand, except the occasional card usage for petrol et al.

Cheques and drafts have acquired a new life.

[chetak]

Latest iteration of the Bhim app finally working for me. I transferred Rs 10 to myself

Did not change any settings, so must have been an issue or bug in the app that they fixed.

what permissions does it insist on?? location?? address book?? contact list??

or hopefully, none ??

[shiv]

Latest iteration of the Bhim app finally working for me. I transferred Rs 10 to myself

Did not change any settings, so must have been an issue or bug in the app that they fixed.

what permissions does it insist on?? location?? address book?? contact list??

or hopefully, none ??

Phone, SMS, camera

[shiv]

In general - change for 2000 and 500 is freely available - at least for me.

Yesterday I met a random person who was informing me how much villages have suffered. What I fail to understand here is how this fellow knows. He should talk about what his own problem is and not hide behind some third hand reports - like all critics are doing. I asked this guy how many of these villagers need to spend at least 500 a day. he said they don;t spent 500 a week. I asked him that if villagers spend less than 500 a week what the hell were ATMs doing supplying 90% of notes in 500s and 1000s? That is a formula for encouraging high value cash transactions. designed solely for those people.

Until demonetization none of these worthies gave a flying fuk that villages had no ATMs or banks and now suddenly there is this humongous weeping about the condition of villagers. As if they were withdrawing all those 500s and 1000s and sending them to villages.

Fact is, no one gave a damn when villagers were taking a hit all these years. Now everyone has taken a hit. If you have taken a hit cough it up and spit it out - talk about it. Stop buggering about and speaking of suffering villagers. Money is so basic that every single one of us has experiences - and I can see nothing new being reported by the media either who are acting just like us - retelling individual experiences.

If most of our country is daily wagers and informal economy we don't need any goddam high value notes at all unless you are paying at least 500 a day to your daily wagers. So stop talking about villagers and talk about what you feel - is what I tell these idiots

[SriKumar]

My personal view of demonetization? Apart from an alarming decrease in patient footfall in hospital clinics

Does this mean that you had fewer patients coming in after demonetization? I find this strange and interesting. What is the cause for this? I can see poor people not visiting a doctor due to lack of money (in general, and not specific to demonetization); but I cannot understand why would middle-class people and higher (who can afford it) would come less often? Is the need any lesser? Surely they have the money. Perhaps their ailments are not as severe enough, so a visit to the doctor can be safely postponed (and that this has _always_ been the case- and demonetization merely brought it to the fore)?

[shiv]

My personal view of demonetization? Apart from an alarming decrease in patient footfall in hospital clinics

Does this mean that you had fewer patients coming in after demonetization? I find this strange and interesting. What is the cause for this? I can see poor people not visiting a doctor due to lack of money (in general, and not specific to demonetization); but I cannot understand why would middle-class people and higher (who can afford it) would come less often? Is the need any lesser? Surely they have the money. Perhaps their ailments are not as severe enough, so a visit to the doctor can be safely postponed (and that this has _always_ been the case- and demonetization merely brought it to the fore)?

Consultations are almost always paid in cash because across the board they are usually less than 1000 and mostly less than 500. Except for pretenders people do not come to doctors based on class. The poorest and the richest sit side by side in the clinic. 90% of people do not use digital transactions and have to pay in cash. Even if the earning member if a family has a card of some type - he is the healthy guy who is working and the people outside the doc's chamber are wife, son. daughter, grandfather grandmother, grandchild, sister, brother who come only with some cash in the purse/pocket. The expected bill estimate is known from previous visits. No cash no consult unless it is a desperate emergency. If it is an ache here or a lump there - some home remedy or neighbours advice is followed till a doc can be consulted. Paediatricians were probably the only exception - but for surgeons like me where a consult might possibly lead to an operation - the consultation is gladly avoided - hoping that things will get better. No one in his right senses comes seeking an operation.

Demonetization hit everyone - and the hit was noticed in every sector in the first few weeks. No one using public transport. No one eating out. No one travelling to another city for a fun trip. No one consulting doctors unless it was very urgent (rare). Available cash was used for basic survival - food and water

[Zynda]

In general - change for 2000 and 500 is freely available - at least for me.

Hakim saar, a honest question. Where do you usually go in BLR to get change for 2000 note? I have 1 x 2000 note for which I am unable to obtain change. Have even tried paying for a treatment session at an expensive private hospital which ended up with refusal to accept 2000 note. Petrol bunks are not an option since I pay by card.

[shiv]

In general - change for 2000 and 500 is freely available - at least for me.

Hakim saar, a honest question. Where do you usually go in BLR to get change for 2000 note? I have 1 x 2000 note for which I am unable to obtain change. Have even tried paying for a treatment session at an expensive private hospital which ended up with refusal to accept 2000 note. Petrol bunks are not an option since I pay by card.

OK - I just exchange it at the hospital counter where they oblige if they have change. That aside - I sometimes take a short ride on an airport bus where I have got change. BMTC Bus conductors often have change - but riding buses is a new-found game for me - to avoid driving - though even that is being killed by my new love - Uber. . I have received change in some busy eateries/darshinis, also in busy condiments/snack shops. That aside - I must point out that I have needed change for 2000 only on 5-6 occasions and I have listed all of them. Have you asked at petrol pumps?

I must also mention that SHQ and others in my area have a readymade source of change. It is our local Nandini/government milk booth man. This guy says - that it is a pain for him to count and deposit 1000s in small notes that he gets every day in the bank and says anyone who comes to him before 8 AM with a 2000 note will get change.

[Deans]

Salaried middle class is famous majorly for sitting on its musharraf during elections. Salaried middle class is a small portion of the electorate and Modi can keep winning on the back of *gareeb, pichhde & dalit* if he can get them on his side.

/rant off

Start of the innings is not the end of the innings. Lots of folks, especially in the chattering class some knowingly and some unknowingly, make the same mistake with black money too. They ask if black money is wiped out now that we are past 50 days of notebandi.

Yes, as PM said, only 24 lac people declare an income above 10 lac. That's 1% of the Adult urban population of India. Do we reduce that further
by exempting more people ? Tax rates are also compatible with G20 countries. I would expect that if the tax base doubles (which I think it should
after DeMo) we have increased slabs in line with inflation (i.e. 3 lac becomes 3.25 lac) , removal of cesses on tax and also removal of exemptions
that get misused (e.g. bonus stripping of shares, to show an artificial loss and offset against capital gains).

[Deans]

While I was underwhelmed by Modi's address, for the same reasons others mention, I think he needed to make these announcements ahead of
the model code of conduct (ahead of the assembly elections) which might come into effect within a week. The RBI would need a few days to announce accurate details of how much money might be black (since RBI's deposit details have to be compared with IT records), so he was probably right in leaving that out.
I believe the schemes announced touch upon the right areas- for e.g. 6000 p.m. to pregnant women (based on a pilot that worked in 33 districts but had no funds to be scaled up) addresses infant and women's mortality at childbirth where India's record is one of the worst in the world. It would ensure a pregnant woman registers at a primary health center (reduces both mortality for the mother and sex specific abortion) and a payment of Rs 500 p.m for a year (Rs 6000) can mean the difference between a healthy child or one permanently affected by acute malnutrition at birth. The stimulus for low cost housing (which I believe will be combined with confiscated benami land being used for low cost housing) will be a big boost to the economy.

[jamwal]

Last night got my first cash out of an ATM since Nov 6th. Nearby HDFC ATM had some money and I got brand new 5 500 Rupees notes. Tried luck again few hours back and it was empty now. But some PSU bank ATM little further ahead was giving 1000 rupees according to one bystander.

[Deans]

My local newspaperman, cable guy and grocery store (who accepts cards for bills above Rs 200) are all quite happy to keep a running account
against my Rs 2000 note. I pay in advance as the money means more to them than it does to me, but they extend credit too. Maid and driver had bank accounts which they never used (and claimed they never had) but will now be getting their salary by bank transfer for the 2nd month.
NONE of the people I've heard complain to me about DeMo have personally been inconvenienced.

[Zynda]

Ok thanks Shiv. I guess I will try the hospital again when I go for the next treatment session. Or will try taking the bus once just to get some change.

[jamwal]

Still 97 per cent support Modi over demonetisation, 75 per cent blame others for cash crunch: Survey

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/pm-m ... 46865.html

The demonetisation deadline, as spelt out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has ended but 'currency normal' situation is still weeks, if not months away.
Notwithstanding the cash crunch that still continues, an online survey done over the period of 50 days shows that support for PM Modi has not dwindled.
In the survey, conducted by social engagement platform LocalCircles, 97 per cent participants are still with Modi on the question of demonetisation.
Also read | PM Modi's mega New Year sops ahead of crucial state elections: Highlights
The survey result is astonishingly the same over the last 50 days. According to LocalCircles, the survey's results are based on around 3.5 lakh responses. It also says that more than 1 lakh citizens participated in the debates and discussions on demonetisation before the final results were drawn.

[Rishirishi]

Personally, I may be taking an HL shortly. So some benefit for me.

My mango views:

Home prices are going to increase a bit in the main cities if builders are ready to lower the costs. But most of the Builders are already sitting on overpriced inventory in the main cities like Mumbai and Delhi, and they are not going to start a trend of lowering the prices unless they are under pressure from their lenders and "investors". Since in many cases, the "investors" are mainly political leaders and big moneybags who are primarily looking for parking their ill-gotten BM they may not want to reduce the prices unless they are under pressure themselves. Moreover, there is not going to be many purchases for "investment" purpose now. Such a reduction of the rate of interest, therefore, may not stimulate demand to a large extent now.

Indian property prices are driven by investments of BM money. People use land as a bank. This makes it very expensive for people to purchase their home, get land to build infrastructure og purchase land for industrial activity.

[Marten]

Zynda ji, you are hardly n kms from me! Come over and get your change and have a nice cuppa as well.

No issues with any of the ATMs dispensing change at our locations. Paper guy accepted transfer and was happy. Car washing guy laughed and said he wont mind being paid three months later. But later came around to accepting a transfer to his account. However, not knowing his financial situation, handed over change to him. Ironing guy is happily handing out change to those that ask!

Shop owners are all from Malappuram and will not hand over any change. Other local shopowners will if we purchase above 500. Now, even the roadside momo shops are accepting but Darshinis/Sagars are still refusing to use machines and are very obviously rigging the tills to put away some more cash. They need to be brought in line. Rick drivers have change and most use a smartphone thanks to Ola but prefer cash if you have it. Else, will happily accept change.

Because I have access to 100s from ATMs, am not worried at all and have been trying hand cash where required. Including a few neighbours who were cribbing about not getting change or having to stand in line at the ATM *even though there are really no lines at the ATMs near our place.

[Lisa]

Dasarji,

In the UK, debit card charges are fixed, ie as there is no credit element involved a fixed charge is levied irrespective on the value of the transaction. We currently pay 11p. In India such a charge cannot exceed a single digit Rupee value. Under no circumstances must a percentage fee be permitted as it discourages use and furthermore enriches banks in that a debit card transaction for 10 Rs costs the same to process as a 1Cr Re transaction, correct?

Not sure what you are referring to when you say 11p. Debit cards are not charged that much. Debit/Credit cards are charged at a rate ranging from 0.5% - 2.5% depending on the merchant, volume of payments through the acquirer annually and who the scheme is.

For instance, large merchants are charged a flat fee of pennies on the transaction - irrespective of the value because they are responsible for £b in transactions annually. But a cornershop is charged around 1.5%. Also, I disagree with your assertion that the "transaction cost" remains the same. While this is technically true, the reason why charges are so low in the EU is due to blending i.e. cross subsidisation. If you were charging a the same for a £1000 transaction that you would for a £10 transaction, then the charges would need to rise on the lower transaction. Further, a £10k transaction represents a much higher risk to the acquirer than a £10 transaction. Having said that merchants can negotiate down their charges through increased volume. The same goes for the acquiring bank, whose charges are lowered if they push more payments through a particular scheme.

Similarly, other than travel and a few merchants, most do not differentiate between CC & DC as merchants would be subsidised through high value transactions.

Therefore, what needs to be done is that the government needs to subsidise card transactions through some of the extra taxes collected by such payments (i.e merchants cannot deflate their income when received through cards).

Going back to the OPs "the card issuer has to bear the risk of not being paid (write off expense)", it isn't as simple as that. (if it is a fraud case) then depending on who committed the fraud, that party will bear the loss. So if you stole someone's card and bought a bunch of items, then the issuing bank pays the customer back. But if the merchant fails to deliver the goods though, then the acquirer pays the bill. The issuing bank never pays a penny as the risk is held completely by the acquiring bank.

JohnTitor,

I may have failed to clarify that by 11p I meant 11 pence (£0.11) not 11 percent. The charge is fixed irrespective of value charged to the card. Visa, Mastercard etc are charged at a rate of 1.1 - 1.4 percent dependent on whether the card is personal or business. Amex can variate upto 3.00%. I pay 1%. In my opinion, such fees MUST be made non transferable, ie let the merchant increase the prices of his goods rather than discriminating between users who use electronic means of payment as this action defeats the very purpose of digitisation. IMHO A subsidy is impractical and an unnecessary burden on system.

[JohnTitor]

JohnTitor,

I may have failed to clarify that by 11p I meant 11 pence (£0.11) not 11 percent. The charge is fixed irrespective of value charged to the card. Visa, Mastercard etc are charged at a rate of 1.1 - 1.4 percent dependent on whether the card is personal or business. Amex can variate upto 3.00%. I pay 1%. In my opinion, such fees MUST be made non transferable, ie let the merchant increase the prices of his goods rather than discriminating between users who use electronic means of payment as this action defeats the very purpose of digitisation. IMHO A subsidy is impractical and an unnecessary burden on system.

Thanks Lisa - I am familiar with the currency used since I am a regular. Having worked in the industry, I was saying that the 11p is quite high and is usually charged only for smaller merchants. I would give specific examples, but it would breach my NDA and hence I will refrain from doing so. I'll just say that the charge for merchants range from 0.5%-2.5% depending on the size of the merchant as well as the industry. AMEX is quite expensive because there aren't that many cards around and only a few merchants accept it.

The only reason I mentioned subsidies is because of the inflationary effects of passing on the charges to the end customer. Merchant acquiring is relatively new in india and there aren't many big players. Once there is volume, rates should come down - whether those are then passed onto the merchant is another thing.

[UlanBatori]

Used sarkari baink ATM in Malloostan. 4500 limit is only for show - they only give 2000Rs notes, so max is 4000. Not seen a new 500Rs note yet. Hope to restock on 100s by personal vijit to baink todin.

[rahulm]

Yesterday, bought nankhatai from M V Roach, oldest bakery in Panchgani, operating since 1901. The bakery has seen much better days and looks a sad relic inside and outside. Owner smirked when I asked about epayment options. Cash only.

Bang opposite him, had ginger tea from a hand cart. Paid Rs 10 by payTM. Digital payment adoption is a patchwork and in my wanderings cant detect a pattern.

A lady in a biggish cash only shop said to me 'If we adopt epayments we have to pay transaction costs'. The thinking seems to be to avoid tax and transaction costs. I think businesses have, over the years, got a sense of entitlement and would leave nothing on the table for anybody if they could. Everything looted and saved especially for 'daughters marriage'. I have never fathomed this obsession and show associated with this 'daughters marriage' "business".

I have come across many shops that have a swipe card reader but will not advertise it. Only an enquiry or worse, a stand off where I start walking out will make this machine appear.

It should,be SOP for us to ask for epayment options for every purchase and all,things being equal patronise establishments that have embraced epayments.

The shops and establishment act needs to be amended to make accepting of epayments mandatory, even for the morning flower selling lady so one can do proper Pooja

PS the nankhtai was good. Not laced with sugar as is the norm.

[Yagnasri]

I faced serious problems from Nov8 to till date. My mother is in hospital at that time and since passed away last Monday. Friends and relatives helped me with cash. In the case of serious money problems, I used to have credit card transactions. But that is no longer possible as I can not withdraw cash from Credit card. Time to enforce e-transactions by law. Doctors and others can not be allowed do drama as they have done in my case. I thinking of writing to NM as soon as I am free from ceremonies.

[putnanja]

In Hyderabad, I am managing with around Rs 2000-3000 per month cash, and half of that is mainly for the maid who is dragging her feet in opening a bank account (of course, the poor woman has her own share of issues). The cash is mainly used for vegetable vendors etc, while most of the normal grocery shopping, fuel etc are all through card.

Had been to Mantralaya where inspite of it being a major piligrimage center, many of the lodges and restaurants weren't accepting cards! But there was no reduction in lines and people were still there in large numbers and the cash counters were ringing at the shops!

[vnms]

I faced serious problems from Nov8 to till date. My mother is in hospital at that time and since passed away last Monday. Friends and relatives helped me with cash. In the case of serious money problems, I used to have credit card transactions. But that is no longer possible as I can not withdraw cash from Credit card. Time to enforce e-transactions by law. Doctors and others can not be allowed do drama as they have done in my case. I thinking of writing to NM as soon as I am free from ceremonies.

Yagnasri ji, sorry for your loss.

[srinebula]

I faced serious problems from Nov8 to till date. My mother is in hospital at that time and since passed away last Monday.

Sorry to hear this. My condolences.

But that is no longer possible as I can not withdraw cash from Credit card.

Indian credit cards can be used to withdraw cash from an ATM. However the card charges start immediately for withdrawal. One way to withdraw cash using CC while avoiding charges is to first transfer money to your card and pump up the balance beyond your credit limit. This will ensure you don't have to start paying extra charges for withdrawing cash.

[Manish_P]

My condolences, sir

I faced serious problems from Nov8 to till date. My mother is in hospital at that time and since passed away last Monday. Friends and relatives helped me with cash. In the case of serious money problems, I used to have credit card transactions. But that is no longer possible as I can not withdraw cash from Credit card. Time to enforce e-transactions by law. Doctors and others can not be allowed do drama as they have done in my case. I thinking of writing to NM as soon as I am free from ceremonies.

[shiv]

Doctors and others can not be allowed do drama as they have done in my case. I thinking of writing to NM as soon as I am free from ceremonies.

By all means write to Modi but better is to formally complain. But you should complain directly to the Medical Council also
http://www.mciindia.org/helpdesk/downlo ... 0cases.pdf

Enclose a copy of your mother's death certificate and bills that had to be paid in cash and any receipts you have. I cannot speak for specific doctors and hospitals - but very often hospitals collect money on behalf of doctors and the method of collection is hospital policy. Sometimes doctors get blamed for hospital policy. Consumer court is another route

I am not out to defend erring doctors but many doctors are taken for a ride by corporate hospitals. One of the most stupid policies I have seen doctors following like brainless sheep is the idea that they should charge less for general ward patients and more for private room. Fact is it is only the hospital that provides more facilities in private room and is entitled to charge more. The doctor does not give "lesser treatment" for general ward patients and has no business accepting lesser payment. His own fault for signing up for such a scam.

The other point is that every patient has his treatment directed by the doctor but care may be provided by the hospital and medicines by the pharmacy. The doctor does not ensure bill payment - the hospital does. But the patient sees only the doctor. The hospital director does not appear before the patient every day to answer questions nor does the pharmacy answer anything about bills. The doctor is questioned about all this and he can only answer for himself. When a concession is demanded - it is the doctor who gives the concession and he has no power to order a concession from hospital or pharmacy - for which the patients cough up every single paisa, protest or no protest.

I can never forget a case from 1993 at a major corporate hospital in Bangalore. I had a patient who was extremely sick vomiting out his blood and I performed an operation. In this day and age no surgeon should charge less than 50,000 (low) to 1,50,000(high) for that operation. But this was 1993 and I was inexperienced in these matters fresh from Bilayat. My own fee was 6,000 and the Hospital bill was 90,000. The total hospitalization bill was 96,000 (high for that era) The relatives requested a concession which the hospital granted. They cut 4000 from my fee and 4000 from the hospital bill. I took 66% haircut and the hospital gave 5% off. The then owner of the hospital is now in the UK facing the consequences of a failed airline, while the the hospital last month admitted to about 260 crores in black money after the demonetization

[shyam]

Government has to come up with a mechanism to get away with the transaction fee charged for e-payments from/to bank accounts directly. When check deposits (which involves lot of manual work) are done free of cost, there is no reason to charge fee for electronic money transfer. Companies like PayTM will make huge profit just because they happened to at right business at right time. They will make free money while others are working hard and transactions are done. This may appear as parasites sitting on the economy to suck out blood. It is different when people use their service for convenience (hence PayTM making profit) and when it is forced upon people by the government. May be BHIM could have this feature. Government/RBI should own the cost of this infrastructure because they are the ones pushing for it. When country goes e-cash government saves the money needed for printing cash.

Fee for credit card payment is a different beast as there is credit creation and risk involved.

[chetak]

I faced serious problems from Nov8 to till date. My mother is in hospital at that time and since passed away last Monday. Friends and relatives helped me with cash. In the case of serious money problems, I used to have credit card transactions. But that is no longer possible as I can not withdraw cash from Credit card. Time to enforce e-transactions by law. Doctors and others can not be allowed do drama as they have done in my case. I thinking of writing to NM as soon as I am free from ceremonies.

Sorry for your loss. My condolences.

[Marten]

I faced serious problems from Nov8 to till date. My mother is in hospital at that time and since passed away last Monday. Friends and relatives helped me with cash. In the case of serious money problems, I used to have credit card transactions. But that is no longer possible as I can not withdraw cash from Credit card. Time to enforce e-transactions by law. Doctors and others can not be allowed do drama as they have done in my case. I thinking of writing to NM as soon as I am free from ceremonies.

Sorry to hear Sir. Heartfelt condolences.

[Akshay Kapoor]

Yesterday, bought nankhatai from M V Roach, oldest bakery in Panchgani, operating since 1901. The bakery has seen much better days and looks a sad relic inside and outside. Owner smirked when I asked about epayment options. Cash only.

Bang opposite him, had ginger tea from a hand cart. Paid Rs 10 by payTM. Digital payment adoption is a patchwork and in my wanderings cant detect a pattern.

A lady in a biggish cash only shop said to me 'If we adopt epayments we have to pay transaction costs'. The thinking seems to be to avoid tax and transaction costs. I think businesses have, over the years, got a sense of entitlement and would leave nothing on the table for anybody if they could. Everything looted and saved especially for 'daughters marriage'. I have never fathomed this obsession and show associated with this 'daughters marriage' "business".

I have come across many shops that have a swipe card reader but will not advertise it. Only an enquiry or worse, a stand off where I start walking out will make this machine appear.

It should,be SOP for us to ask for epayment options for every purchase and all,things being equal patronise establishments that have embraced epayments.

The shops and establishment act needs to be amended to make accepting of epayments mandatory, even for the morning flower selling lady so one can do proper Pooja

PS the nankhtai was good. Not laced with sugar as is the norm.

I find your posts very interesting. You enjoy travelling it seems. But how do you get so much time off from work