Senior government officials in Puducherry called upon the traders to switch to online transactions and embrace the change the demonetisation has brought in.

In an awareness programme on digital payment organised by Puducherry Lead Bank along with Commercial Tax Department and Municipalities held on Thursday, V. Candavelou, Secretary (Finance), Government of Puducherry, said: “We are facing a temporary cash crunch. At this point, the traders should feel confident. Now, the time has come to bring some changes. The government is doing electronic cash transfer to pay salaries for the government servants. The fund for the beneficiaries of pension schemes had been sent electronically to their accounts.”

He added that there was an online portal system for the citizens to pay taxes as well. “We are mentally used to the cash transaction. We should change our attitude to use electronic mode. Traders have started shifting to electronic mode of transfer. This gives an opportunity to move forward and shift to the new regime at the shortest possible time. We need to reinvent ourselves to the new regime. Be prepared for the Goods and Services Tax,” said Mr. Candavelou.