Soc Gen: India Move To Cashless Society Hurting Economy

On December 7, the Reserve Bank of India, going against consensus expectations, did not cut interest rates – underlying the assumption that the Indian economy, in the midst of moving to a cashless society, was doing fine, was doing just fine.  This assumption is incorrect, says a December 12 Societe Generale report. Also incorrect is the assumption that “demonetization” will achieve its goal of curbing the black market in India. It's not happening and the economy is suffering as a result, a trend that the bank says could last to the first quarter of 2017 and beyond.

Moving to cashless society benefits the banks, as non-performing loans are problematic

What is the primary...