Team News Riveting
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had claimed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had not ruled out the possibilities of currency notes carrying Coronavirus.
The CAIT had written a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman on March 9, 2020 seeking clarification whether or not currency notes were carriers of bacteria and viruses. However, the letter was forwarded to the RBI.
While responding to CAIT, the RBI hinted that currency notes could be carriers of bacteria and viruses, including coronavirus, and therefore more and more usage of digital payments should be done to avoid handling of currency, the confederation said in a statement.
National President of the CAIT BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said the RBI’s reply indicated that the currency notes were not safe and therefore maximum use of digital payments was inevitable. The CAIT urged Sithraman to introduce an ‘incentive’ scheme for acceptance and adoption of digital payments.
The RBI further stated that “in order to limit the coronavirus pandemic, the public can make payments by sitting at homes through various online digital channels like mobile and Internet banking, credit and debit cards etc and avoid using or withdrawing cash to the extent possible.”
The Confederation said bank charges levied for digital transactions should be waived and the government should give subsidy directly to the banks in lieu of charges. In due course, such subsidy would not be a financial burden on the government; on the other hand, it would minimise the expenses incurred on printing of bank notes, it added.
The CAIT had earlier written to Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan seeking clarity over reports that the novel coronavirus could spread through currency notes.
