India is moving towards digital economy Sri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Finance said. He inaugurated Digi-dhan Mela held in Nizamabad in the state of Telangana today.
While addressing the gathering at the mela the Minister said that the Nizamabad mela is one of the best held melas in the country. The Digi-dhan Mela initiative was started on December 25, 2016
and these melas are successful in creating awareness among the masses about cashless transactions.
The demonetisation drive aimed at combating corruption and black money found that only 1 per cent of the population are paying taxes which is not good for healthy economy, he revealed. Only 24 lakh people are paying taxes in the non-compliant society Sri Meghwal said. 23.2% of shadow economy or parallel economy is on the prowl which is a bad sign to the economy the Minister added. Mobile technology has revolutionised the activities of people especially in the field of business transactions; If more people come under tax net, more revenue would come to the exchequer which enables the Government to undertake development of Infrastructure, roads and good hospitals, the Minister exhorted. When the number of good hospitals increases the healthcare for people can be enhanced, he elucidated.
Akula Sujatha, Mayor of Nizamabad Municipal Corporation said that digi-dhan melas are a boon to the state of Telangana and to Nizamabad in particular to go in for cashless and digital transactions. Dr. Yogitha Rana, District Collector of Nizamabad explained that the Niti Aayog and district administration joined hands for promoting cashless transactions in villages. The Minister of
State for Finance awarded the certificates of appreciation to the Village Sarpanches, state government officials who are striving to promote the digital transactions. Dr. P.J. Sudhakar, Additional Director General took part in the event.
In order to promote digital transactions Niti Aayog and the state Government of Telangana jointly conducting a & mela in Nizamabad today. People from different walks of life, including students, members of DWACRA groups, professionals and common public thronged the free mela
where officials and volunteers explained about digital transactions. The Niti Aayog has been organising these melas across the country as part of its100 days, 100 cities drive to combat corruption and black money. During the Mela, people got the chance to open bank accounts and also enrolling for the Aadhaar card. This is great opportunity for the people to learn how to complete digital transactions, instead of using hard cash. This Mela is organized primarily to change the mindset of the people.
Dr. Yogitha Rana, District Collector, Nizamabad along with Jugal Kishore Sharma, Director, Niti Aayog participated in & Digi-dhan Mela& at Nizamabad. , Press Information Bureau, Hyderabad and Akula Sujatha, Mayor, Nizamabad Municipal Corporation too attended in the event. Yogitha Rana said that in the Telangana state two of the Digi dhan melas were organised already at Hyderabad and Warangal. Now the third one is being organised in Nizamabad, she added. Dr. Yogitha Rana also highlighted the need to go in for digital transactions. Cashless transactions could be done through WhatsAPP, smart phones, fasttrack, Paytm and credit cards, the Collector said. The main aim of organising such awareness camps is to enlighten the people, especially those from the rural areas.
She appealed to the people to utilise the mela and gain knowledge of cashless transactions.