It’s not business as usual in Technopark thanks to the Central Government’s decision to pull the plug on high denomination currency notes. However, many techies appear to have been taking the resultant cash crunch in their stride. Those supporters of demonetisation that MetroPlus talked to are tom-toming the move to remove Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes as legal tender, with the expectation that it will cause a dent in the parallel economy.
“I think it is a well-intentioned move, a first step to a white economy. Any effort to legalise the economy, anything that gives everyone an equal opportunity and one that makes it a fair playground, is welcome. However, I do believe demonetisation could have been better implemented,” says Anoop Ambika, CEO of Cognub Decision Solutions. “For long now, business in India is not being done in a way that triggers innovation. Cash flow is a major concern for any business and when it ceases to be a worry because of black money, that particular business thrives at the expense of others. As we move towards a white economy, there will be a push for creativity and innovation. Thirdly, I believe that such moves will give a boost to technology and make people come up with local solutions for a cashless economy,” explains Anoop. The CEO adds that neither he nor his company faced any untoward problems when the ban came into force. “I empathise with fellow techies caught out by it, especially those who have/had costly health, marriage and education expenses to meet, but if you are transparent in your dealings there appears to be no reason to panic. There was not much of a hiccup in Technopark, save for the odd queue in front of banks and ATMs on campus in the immediate aftermath. A few also went without a meal or two because many of the food joints on campus accept only cash transactions,” he says.
The queue in front of ATMs at Bhavani building, following the ban Photo courtesy: Prathidhwani
Viju Thomas Varghese, a senior sales manager for an animation firm, believes that demonetisation will be good in the long run. “When taxation improves, hopefully it will trickle down to the needy,” he says. Like many of those on campus, he says he is used to a cashless lifestyle. “I had to travel to Mumbai for work immediately afterwards and it went off without a hitch. Admittedly, I faced some personal difficulties such as not being able to pay the ironing guy and the dhobi but I consider them all as minor inconveniences for the larger good,” he explains.
Harsha Reghu
Harsha Reghu, an admin coordinator for a clinical research firm on campus, also doesn’t seem to mind the inconveniences. “Over the past few weeks, its been the hottest topic of discussion on campus and most people conclude that demonetisation is a good idea. That’s despite the fact that many of us were not able to travel home in the weekends after the ban because we had no cash in hand to pay for bus tickets. Many people had to take a day off to stand in queue at banks. From what I observed, it was only the homemakers who run the food joints in California, Technopark’s dining alley, who really felt the crunch. Suddenly, they had no customers but everything went back to normal after a few days because they accept pre-paid coupons. From the company’s perspective, we had a bit of trouble getting change for the petty cash but again that was sorted out in a couple of days,” she says.
Of course, there’s also a far bit of dissent too. Thomas P. Thomas, CEO, Zyxware Technologies, is sceptical about the move, not least because he had to do without lunch the day after the ban. “I believe the benefits will be short term, if at all. Also, they have not tackled the issues regarding the creation of black money. Thankfully, most company-level transactions in Technopark happen online or through cheques so demonetisation has not affected us much. That’s not the case for the majority, is it?” he ponders.
Riyas Abdulrahim
Riyas Abdulrahim, an insurance operations specialist with an MNC and a lawyer, is one of the more vocal naysayers. “One shouldn’t hold an entire country to ransom just to target a few. The move was supposed to benefit the poor, but they are the ones that seem to be suffering the most. In my opinion, it’s a violation of fundamental rights for someone to question how I spend my hard-earned money...,” he says.
The discussions rage on....
