Andhra CM asks officials to mull free phones for cashless transactions

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to look into a proposal to give free mobile phones to economically backward people to enable cashless transactions.

Naidu mooted the idea during a meeting with officials, including those from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and other bankers.

Stressing the need for digital transactions, the Chief Minister said the people who don’t have mobile phones may be provided with free phones to move to a cashless economy.

Naidu said the current crisis created by shortage of currency notes of small denominations in the wake of November 8 demonetisation of high-denomination currency had underlined the need to go digital for financial transactions.

The Chief Minister was told by officials that mobile banking was possible even with feature phones and without Internet connections.

–IANS