One of the achievements #Modi is mocked for highlighting is one that many of us take for granted - a bank account -
As a nomad who lived out of suitcase in the nascency of netbanking, I know how hard it was to pay a simple BSNL bill when they didn't have online banking yet
As a nomad who lived out of suitcase in the nascency of netbanking, I know how hard it was to pay a simple BSNL bill when they didn't have online banking yet
My college was so strict they wouldn't let us out except on Sundays, so paying it myself was ruled out.
My parents couldn't pay as they were in another State and BSNL there wouldn't collect bills meant for here!
My parents couldn't pay as they were in another State and BSNL there wouldn't collect bills meant for here!
As to why BSNL, my folks understandably grew up in a license raj that accepted a six-year waitlist for a scooter or phone connection. Deep distrust of new private players like Airtel, and Airtel fully justified it too when we briefly tried them!😀
Even had to send a money order (any Gen Y here heard of it? 😀) for my bill when I was at home on vacation. It was 25 paise for the form. I hand the officer 50p, he rummages for the 25p in change, laughing "I must return and account for something we don't even give beggars now"!
Imagine running around so much just to pay a biller in another State. The red tape could test even Buddha's patience. And that's just the process. Not even going into the people part of it.
Finally, when I decided to shift to a BSNL prepaid sim, the level of paperwork for it made me wonder if I was buying a BSNL sim or the BSNL company itself! Then came the twist that would dog me for years like a relentless ex - proof of ID.
I was still in college, barely a major, and no ID in my name yet. And getting a proof of address letter from Bush was easier than one from my Hostel warden. Somehow brought the BSNL staffer on board, by daring him to send RAW to my hostel room if he felt that suspicious about me.
By that afternoon the Wardens were after my life - for no prior intimation, as BSNL had made a bonafides verification call to them.
Later, as fate took me across cities, same problem - random rented residence, no LOCAL ID proof. Red tape left me in red rage each time.
Later, as fate took me across cities, same problem - random rented residence, no LOCAL ID proof. Red tape left me in red rage each time.
Where was the common sense? - that as a renter there would be no official paper or ID in my name? But no. Rules are rules, common sense be damned!
Then in 2015, when I was getting ready for more of the same for a broadband connection 2 days into a new job, the technician says never mind "local address", just give me Adhaar, address be damned. Immediately realised what a boon that was. It was a trend that happily caught on.
Nobody asked me for "local" proof ever again. It was this government that thought of using the selfsame Aadhar, started by the previous govt 6 years prior. It became a one-stop shop for all requirements of ID. Added benefit was the online copy permissible. What a boon!
When I tried to open a PPF (if only for the fig leaf of the passbook as a local Govt ID address), the officer kept finding some lacuna in the forms each time and even once asked me "Aap graduate lagte ho, Aap hi aise karoge toh inko Kya bolu?" - pointing to less natty customers
These were labourers doing rounds of SBI for sending as little as ₹1000 back home to Bihar. It struck me that his behaviour albeit rude, had bare modicum of deference ONLY because I looked better placed in life. Imagine being a labourer sending money at this official's whims
That's where the other big reform often mocked as frivolous, finds favour with the masses - the Jan Dhan account with 0 balance and a mandate to spread that to EVERYONE without an account.
You were now the master of your own bank account, and didn't have to be at mercy of a snooty Sarpanch or officious fathead just to send money home. Just imagine how liberating that must have been for a labourer.
One little known measure that isn't talked about is that of abolishing the notary signature. Why should you be at mercy of someone so noteworthy he would only take note of you after noting the stack of notes you give him? Off it went, and self attestation is now enough.
No more running around for "attestations. Oh, how I used to dread that! Again, given how that works, it's a major stress reliever to have it out, especially when the notary adds no notable value to the process.
For all the small steps, the biggest reform in my opinion is still that of the UPI. A measure so pathbreaking and seemingly "Why didn't anyone come up with this before?"-level simple, it has penetrated the country like no other!
Just realised that I have zoomed past the whole of this month with ₹80 in loose cash with me. Just Eighty Rupees!
Milk, local cable TV, paper, you name it, they all have UPI. Hell, even the wizened, lisping florist near my home just took ₹20 via UPI for flowers!
Milk, local cable TV, paper, you name it, they all have UPI. Hell, even the wizened, lisping florist near my home just took ₹20 via UPI for flowers!
The explosion of QR cards in virtually every single store is fantastic to see. And it feels so nice to see them "included" in the Digital India story. Online Payment, which was once the preserve of a select few, is now almost universal, thanks to a bank account and UPI.
This morning as I was paying electricity, cable bill and a mobile recharge all within my tea boiling, I couldn't help feeling nostalgic about how far I've come in terms of simple human convenience. Not needing to supplicate to someone for basic human needs is empowering.
That labourer at the SBI branch can now send money whenever the hell he wants, not just when SBI doesn't have their lunch. He doesn't have to be at their mercy to withdraw money either. And as a migrant, not often will he be asked for proof of address anymore too!
I'm reminded of this from shortly after the 2019 verdict. Here's Shekhar Gupta explaining how try as they might, they couldn't find one person not touched by SOME scheme of Modi's. That people choose to ignore this is reflective of their biases.
That is precisely what Shashi Tharoor unwittingly alluded to after the verdict, in saying
"We thought the Public would see through..." Jobs, economy, secularism etc.
But actual effort to find out what the common man "thought"? Zero!
Any surprises they lost?
"We thought the Public would see through..." Jobs, economy, secularism etc.
But actual effort to find out what the common man "thought"? Zero!
Any surprises they lost?
And THAT, appears to be the gameplan of Modi. For all the clamour on SM over "Sarva Dharma Vada Pav", he will take it up the day it appears to him the common man cares about it. Until then, get ready for more of "ease of living" measures, maybe a little more of "ease of business"
You're upset Modi didn't tweet about #PalgharMobLynching? It's because he knows the common man doesn't care. The common man voted in Bihar for the gas cylinder, electricity connection and the house he got. I doubt the Aam Aadmi cares much for conversions in TN/AP and North East.
