NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged a cash dependent economy where villages are still without electricity, and where smart phones remain a dream to move to plastic and e-batwas (wallets) as he put it in his mann ki baat. Since then the e-wallet providers the Prime Minister posed for in advertisements PayTm and Reliance (Mukesh Ambani) Jio albeit earlier, have made a killing in terms of spiralling traffic with both endorsing demonetisation in glowing words.



Paytm early on in the days of demonetisation was confident enough to state in a blog post, "People will now judge you by the size of your Paytm Wallet... Just saying.” And it went on to announce that it was processing over 7 million transactions a day, a figure that is rising even as one writes.



The company has reported a 700 per cent increase in traffic since the demonetisation, particularly after the huge advertisements Paytm ran with PM Modi as the ‘model’ shortly after the demonetisation move. This was noted and criticised by Opposition leaders with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeting, “Paytm biggest beneficiary of PM's (Modi's) announcement (demonetization of big currency). Next day PM appears in its ads. What's the deal, Mr PM?"



Deal or no deal, Paytm has scored in being ahead in the e-wallet make over in India. It is not the only beneficiary, but according to business newspapers certainly the largest beneficiary. More so as it was allowed by the PM to use his photograph to cash in on the dearth of cash, and thereby secure a sizeable section of the e-Wallet traffic. All companies in the business agree that demonetisation has helped them grow dramatically, as earlier the traffic was at best moderate, usually low.



Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, although a late comer, has entered the e-Wallet market with Jio Money – a merchant solution that he claims will be available across millions of touchpoints in the country. Jio incidentally was another brand that PM Modi endorsed by allowing his photograph to be used in advertisements across the country, and Aadhaar-based micro-ATMs will also be launched to help facilitate Jio Money. Ambani claimed that Jio Money will, “enable digital transactions of all types, whether they be at Mandis, small shops, restaurants, railway ticket counters, for bus and mass transit and even for person-to-person money transfers.”



Aadhar’s mastermind Nandan Nilenkani, whose master card has still not reached all Indians, has also endorsed demonetisation in remarks that have led PM Modi to invite him for consultations.



While big industry makes profits, the poor are still standing in queues outside banks for their own money, while the vegetable market has all but crashed in Punjab, Maharashtra and most other north Indian states. Unable to transport this highly perishable commodity, farmers are cutting prices and selling their produce at a fraction of the rates being charged earlier. Punjab newspapers, reporting the hardship, said that the farmers at the mandis were giving away the vegetables at rock bottom prices with the intention being not to salvage any money---”that is not possible now” many were quoted as saying----but to save at least some of the vegetables in the process.



The demonetisation has left the consumer without the money to buy vegetables in large quantities, the trader too does not have the new currency and so cannot pay the farmers for their produce, and the truck transporters are finding it difficult to ply all vehicles because of the dire shortage of new money. Vegetable mandis doing brisk business running into crores are reporting a mass reduction although official figures are still not available on the steep decline in vegetable business.



The non-availability of cash has also hit the sowing season although the government claims that the farmers have faced no difficulty insofar as this was concerned. Again while collated figures are still not available, media reports from different parts of the country that the quantum of sowing has taken a hit because of the non availability of money to buy sufficient seeds. An Indian Express report for instance speaks of the inability of an onion farmer to sow his entire stretch of seven acres because of money, and hence, seed shortage. He has managed to sow only less than half of his land, a story that seems to have become the norm for farmers this sowing season.



As agriculturists have been saying, “the full extent of the impact of demonetisation on the farmers will be known only after 50 days” but they apprehend the worst. Farm labour is also being reduced because of the cash shortage, less quantity is being sowed, and this will result in a shortage and a higher price of staple vegetables, such as onions, in the coming season.



The poor-rich, farmer-industrialist, divide has been sharpened by demonetisation with the 30 days of acute hardship having started to dent PM Modi’s claim that only the rich corrupt will be impacted. The sentiment in the queues, as reported by The CItizen Bureaus from Lucknow and New Delhi, is truning from a “let us see” response in the initial days to “the rich are not hurt, they are happy, they have saved all their black money,” mutterings now a month later.