Goa is all set to become cashless and digitized from October this year, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said. Making this announcement at a function organized by the NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), Parrikar said the details of ‘100 per cent digitization’ would be unveiled in the state budget 2018-19 which will be placed before the Legislative Assembly next month. “We are going full scale into the digital payment mode. Six months after April 1, 2018, we will have 100 per cent digitization,” said Parriker. He said no government payments will be accepted in cash, except for emergency requirements, from October onwards. The state government has fully shifted to digital payment transfer mode or e-mode, he said. “To accept the payment through digital mode, we will require a large number of Point of Sale (PoS) machines. We have already signed an agreement with the State Bank of India to provide 650 PoS,” he informed.
Parrikar said the 650 PoS machines may not be adequate and that he is going to take a step ahead, but didn’t elaborate. “Nitty-gritties would be spelt out in the state budget. There would be 100 per cent digitization by September 30, 2018, which means from October 1, no cash would be accepted at the government counters,” he commented. Parrikar said digitization is the best thing that can happen to our country. “Less cash means less corruption, less cash (means) less evil and at the same time an improvement in the state income,” he said.