Dissecting all the reports that have been published since the Demonetization episode, he put forth his observations as to the motive of this move by the Indian Government, which was to formalize the Indian Economy. This was the very first thing that was brought to the students’ notice by Mr Sanjay Agarwal, and also the most lingering one.
A key impact of Demonetization was the significant surge in digital payments. Mr Agarwal explained this in the light of the Indian Government’s endeavours to get more people into the banking system and achieve “Financial Inclusion”. He also elaborated on how the money formalized by Demonetization was captured by the increased Mutual Fund investments, Savings Accounts and Insurance Premiums. He then highlighted an increment in the tax base as a key benefit of the initiative and led the students to marvel at the swift Remonetisation that was brought about in the days that followed. Being a stalwart in the business of white label ATMs, Mr Agarwal also illustrated the transforming payments landscape, with an increase in the demand for POS machines and a change in the ATM penetration in the post demonetization era.
The session kept the students thoroughly engaged as Mr Agarwal made them sail through his extensive data-driven research, all the while crunching a lot of numbers on the fly. Certain ideas that continued to resonate in the minds of the students after attending the lecture were, “In a country where almost 98% payments are through cash, despite the changing trends, both cash and non-cash transactions are here to stay”, and, “For the economy to grow and prosper, the entire ecosystem has to holistically grow”.
The engaging session culminated with him answering the multitude of questions posed by the enthusiastic students. He answered them with great clarity and substance which ultimately inspired the budding finance enthusiasts of Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur to follow their passion. We look forward to having more such sessions.
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