India has become a leader in IT services and its skilled workers now occupy offices across every continent. Yet the digital divide is stark; around a billion people have no access to the web, which is the largest offline population of any country according to the World Bank.So the fact the country is pushing so fervently towards a cashless society is a significant pain point.The political rhetoric is simple: demonetisation is about crushing the 'black economy.' But 600 million Indians don't have bank accounts, and a disproportionate number of these individuals live in villages, earning daily wages in cash. Only 4.4 per cent of the population has access to a credit or debit card. Following the global financial crisis, banks and credit card companies in India became overcautious and the excesses of the previous years were controlled, pushing millions of credit cards out of the system.Elitist India argues 'mobile wallet' companies, such as Paytm and Freecharge.in, should fill the gap, but most citizens are unfamiliar with the available options; the third-generation mobile spectrum and broadband are limited, and out of India's population of 1.3 billion, less than 300 million use the web.Of the total number of Indians who own mobile phones, only around 26 per cent have smartphones, which are essential to use payment apps, plus the cost of a smartphone is prohibitively high in a country with the lowest living standards among major emerging markets.