There is a chill in the air, with dark clouds rolling towards the coast threatening to unleash a storm. But, strangely, nature’s fury this time seems a distraction at best and a nuisance at worst. For, the people are already grappling with a super cyclone called demonetisation that sucked the cash off their wallets. Ever the man of action, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is battling the headwinds, racing against time and tide — of rising public anger — to put cash or cards in the hands of the cash-starved. After all, he had himself invited delegalisation of high value currency, albeit with a different calculus to checkmate his bete noire Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Perhaps, he should have been careful of what he wished for. Andhra Pradesh is unlike any other State. Following the division of the State in 2014, it has slipped into a plethora of problems. And now, thanks to demonetisation and the consequent contraction in economic activity, the State’s fiscal deficit is likely to shoot up over Rs 24,000 crore.
Revenue loss directly resulting from demonetisation is pegged at over at least Rs 3,000 crore. It’s true that the GSDP for the second quarter ending September was an incredible 12.20 per cent, much higher than the national figure. But sans corresponding growth in jobs and revenues, as critics point out, it’s a kind of consolation, not consolidation.
Dependent on the Centre for the State’s development, including the proposed world class capital city Amaravati, and the BJP being an ally, Naidu chose to bite the bullet. Shrewd politician that he is, he has been holding regular marathon meetings with bankers and officials to ensure that enough cash is in circulation.
Never mind that currency is coming in a trickle from the RBI and the latter is just as helpless as he is. He has also shot off a series of letters to both the RBI and the Centre seeking infusion of liquid cash into the State and even launched a mobile application called APPurse so that people could download it on their phones and carry on transactions on the go, without cash in hand. Incidentally, he beat his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao, who was rather slow to catch up, in releasing the application.
Competition with his former party colleague, giving his campaign that added zing. He is well aware that at times like these, it’s perception that matters. Channeling public anger through his daily reviews and missives, he has managed to stay on the same page as the aam aadmi.
That’s until Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley found in him a ‘friend indeed.’ The tech-savvy Naidu is a perfect foil for the Centre’s efforts post demonetisation and making him the convenor of the CMs’ panel on promotion of digital payments and cashless society makes sense. But for Naidu, it may not, believe his own party leaders. If the cash crunch persists well into the next year, they fear the ‘dirt of demonetisation’ would taint them too.
Despite misgivings, the Chief Minister has taken up the gauntlet, either out of political compulsion or sheer guts. Either way, he’s walking on the razor’s edge.
As per official data, the State government itself requires 76,147 point of sale (PoS) machines to make its transactions with the general public cashless. It has currently, 11,498 only. Micro ATMs, seen as a godsend, are just five in number. Similarly, card based transactions amounted to just a little over Rs 6,000 crore in the month since November 9.
As for payments of social security pensions to the aged, differently-abled and others — of the 42 lakh pensioners, only 30 lakh have bank accounts. The travails of lakhs of such people queuing up at banks for hours to get a pension of Rs 1,500 have been well reported. There are around 81 lakh Jan Dhan accounts in the State and a little over 65 lakh RuPay cards. To bring them into a cashless economy takes time.
Amid these circumstances, the Opposition is conspicuous by its absence. YSR Congress chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy did send a missive to the PM but it was more of a whimper than a protest. The TDP’s and BJP’s frenemy Jana Sena chief and actor Pawan Kalyan contented himself with a poem and a protest that was fewer than 140 characters. The Left parties have taken to the streets but thought it fit to hit the headlines with ‘calls for shooting the PM a 100 times’ rather than playing the role of a constructive Opposition. Naidu couldn’t have wished for better opponents.
But the temporary sunshine is deceptive and the sea could turn rough. While he is conscious of the ground reality, he appears keen on striking a balance between his digital push and the people’s demonetisation woes.