Isn't it really a tax by another name?

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is an ardent believer in digital technology, which, according to him, will make India a developed nation. Digital transactions will make India a cashless society which will apparently get rid of all corruption. Digital transactions need positive identification, so every citizen is being coerced into obtaining a biometric identity card with photograph, prints of all 10 fingers and iris scans. Even new born babies are not exempt, her intimate details possessed by a coterie of politicians and civil servants, to be used to control her for her entire life. How long before Aadhaar numbers are tattooed on skins of babies or Rfid chip inserted under the skin just after birth for easy identification, for life? Will this intrusion on our bodies and the enormous expense result in economic boom so that we become rich? Digital technology is accessible only to those who are able to understand it. A survey showed that 85% of old people in Delhi are unable to use it for personal transactions. These are educated people, probably retired from respectable careers. What hope is there for millions of illiterate people in India? It is no use telling people that it is very easy. Mandarin and Swahili are easy to those familiar with them but completely incomprehensible to us. Digital technology is way more insecure than cash. Hackers cost $4 billion in the first half of 2017 and attacks will continue. It is not a question of if, but when a business or a bank is going to be hacked. Personal data of nearly half of all Americans was compromised earlier this month when Equifax, a credit reporting agency, was hacked. Passwords and pin numbers can be changed but how does any Indian change his fingerprints or iris scans if hacked, which has already happened on several occasions. Banks and businesses need to constantly upgrade their security, which is expensive, and the cost will surely be passed on to consumers in increased charges. In the UK banks are shutting high street branches at the rate of 10 per week. This reduces costs for banks and increases bonuses for managers but imposes risks of online banking on customers and loss of employment for staff. Credit card use is increasing in India. If you use cash you pay the exact cost and the trader receives the full amount for his goods or service. But using a card the trader has to pay the card company. Visa makes billions of dollars in profits. Those unable to restrict their spending get into terrible debts, and have to pay usurious charges to card companies. It is true that cash can be robbed but robbers are seen on CCTV and usually caught by police. Hackers sitting in China or Russia are completely safe. Finally, digital economy will vastly increase inequality, wrote Prof D Trapscott. So blissful to be ignorant.