By: Krishna Prasad
Telangana has registered the highest number of e-transactions in the country, beating Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Kerala after demonetisation.
On January 5, the state became number one in all categories of digital transactions. Telangana recorded 10.2 crore digital transactions during the last two months, the highest in the country. The share of digital economy in the state reached 4.5% of the gross state domestic product. Telangana also stood first in the total transactions for December and January.
It is also number one in per capita transactions with 2,804 transactions per 1,000 people. The state reported a healthy spread of electronic operations in 127 government and private services. “This will benefit the state as tax revenue increases through digital transactions. This will eliminate tax evasion and push up revenues from all sectors. The surge in e-transactions will help the state recover from the ill-effects of the shortage of the cash.
The benefit is already showing in the gradual increase in commercial tax collections,” principal finance secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao said. The Telangana government is anticipating more revenue in the coming months as each transaction will bring in additional income. Another important factor that will boost the economy is reduced interference of officials in tax collection and tracking. Officials are of the opinion that digital economy will reduce the need for manpower to handle consumers.
“The number of staff required in tax departments like excise, commercial taxes, transport will come down with increased digital transactions. At the same time, corruption in the government offices will also get eliminated with less human interference,” said a senior official in the revenue department.
Source: Times of India