Demonetisation anniversary highlights: Congress observes black day; Rahul Gandhi calls note ban a 'tragedy'

Demonetised notes find way into temples

Scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes continue to find their way into donation boxes at some temples in Odisha. Unable to dump their old currency notes, devotees are dropping the demonetised notes in donation boxes at Jagannath Temple in Puri and Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar.

The deadline for exchange of demonetised notes expired on December 30 last year. Now, the temple trustees are worried about how to encash the devalued denominations. – IANS

Better implementation could have minimised people’s suffering

The Government could have minimised the suffering with better planning. At the Initial stage, BSF/CRPF/Police vehicles could have been used to transfer funds to far flung location instead of depending only on bank approved security vehicles. Also, RBI should have alerted government about incompatibility of ATMs with new notes and time taken for re-calibration. – By R Vaidyanathan

Read full article here

Jayant Sinha challenges Mamata Banerjee, says demonetisation is not a scam

I am here to challenge Mamata ji & tell her directly that #Demonetisation is not a scam. This is a message I want to take to the people of Bengal and tell them what the people of India are saying today, that this is not a scam but a miracle: Union Minister Jayant Sinha in Kolkata pic.twitter.com/aWQliwLc0N

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

Tarun Gogoi says demonetisation disrupted India’s credibility

Participated in the massive protest against #DeMoDisaster by @narendramodi Govt which disrupted India's economic credibility.#BlackDay pic.twitter.com/7IgQcx3NrT

— Tarun Gogoi (@tarun_gogoi) November 8, 2017

In a first, govt ‘celebrating’ death, suffering: Left

The Left lashed out at the Narendra Modi government, saying that for the first time in India’s history, a government was “celebrating” death and suffering.

Six Left parties, which took to the streets to protest against the Centre’s demonetisation policy, said the government had set two records – making people lose their lives in queues and helping hoarders change black money into white.

“The Modi Government has created two records in the world. One, it made people stand in queues and many people lost their lives; Second, though Modi tried to tell the people and the world that by demonetisation he would stop black money, in reality he has helped hoarders change black money into white,” CPIM leader Brinda Karat said. – PTI

Demonetisation risked national security and stability

There has been a lot of commentary leading up to the first anniversary of demonetisation. Most of it has focused on the economic impact or the lack of it. But a significant sidelight of what happened last year seems to have been forgotten in these reviews of the good, bad, and ugly aspects of demonetisation.

This sidelight is the fact that the prime minister met with the three service chiefs on the evening of 8 November, just before he announced that high-denomination currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would become invalid at midnight.

Read the entire article here

In Pictures: Congress protests in Bhopal against demonetisation

#MadhyaPradesh: Congress party's protest in #Bhopal on one year anniversary of #Demonetisation pic.twitter.com/OXb9K9egHE

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

AAP workers protest against demonetisation in Patna

Image sourced from PTI

Karnataka Congress members observe black day, protest against demonetisation

 Congress leaders from Karnataka gathered at Freedom Park, holding placards and shouting slogans against Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley for the note ban move.

“What good did the note ban do, except for bring the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) down,” questioned Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara at the gathering.

Protests are being held across Karnataka to make people aware of the failures of Demonetization. #BJPMoneyLaunderingDay pic.twitter.com/ZZm2HEEbn0

— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) November 8, 2017

Banned notes worth billions stuck with NRIs, money exchanges, claims businessman

Well-known businessman and Dubai-based NRI spokesperson Ram Buxani says one of the unsolved mysteries with regard to the collection of currency notes that have been banned is the casual indifference towards the huge sums of money lying with official money exchanges all across the globe.

According to him, NRIs and money exchanges possess billions of banned note. Many thousands of hardworking blue collars never even bothered to meet the 30 June 2017 deadline seeing as how it would be more expensive to travel home and then spend time in an alien city and look for accommodation and food while waiting for their turn.

What is worse is that legitimate money exchange branches holding billions in banned denominations legally and through no fault of their own are still sitting on these obsolete funds and have no way of getting rid of them.

Buxani said several petitions have been forwarded to the government agencies in New Delhi but they do not even reply. Every such rupee is white money. This is not hoarded black money, it is a legal service and if any money should be exchanged (literally) it should be such Indian currency abroad.

Read the entire article here

Demonetisation was ‘hasty and immature decision’: Mayawati

Mayawati lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the “hasty and immature” decision had hurt millions of poor in the country “very dearly”.

In a statement, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on 8 November last year had put the common man in huge discomfort and added that people were still reeling from the aftermath of demonetisation.

Vijender Gupta says demonetisation strengthened India’s base

#Demonetisation has strengthened India's base by cleansing the financial system & setting it onto the path of clean, digital, transparent economic regime. #AntiBlackMoneyDay

— Vijender Gupta (@Gupta_vijender) November 8, 2017

AAP joins protest against demonetisation

We are changing our DP to mourn those who lost their lives due to #Demonetization.
Plz change your DP in their memory !#DhokhaDiwas pic.twitter.com/7QIldOXAPP

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) November 8, 2017

Manmohan Singh slams demonetisation move, says it took away 21,000 jobs in Surat alone

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh blamed demonetisation for rampant job losses and also for over 100 lives lost during those days, News18 reported.

Singh also described the demonetisation exercise as a reckless step.

In Pictures: Protest against demonetisation in Mumbai

Glimpses of today's protest against DeMonetisation on it's 1st Anniversary at Azaad Maidan, Mumbai. #BJPMoneyLaunderingDay pic.twitter.com/Nddb0U1Y97

— Mumbai Congress (@INCMumbai) November 8, 2017

DMK says note ban only brought hardship for common man

Demonetisation only brought hardship for common man, DMK working president MK Stalin said while leading the Opposition charge against the NDA government’s note ban move.

Clad in a black shirt, Stalin led a well-attended ‘Karuppu Dinam’ (Black Day) protest and raised slogans against the Narendra Modi government for note ban. PTI

Demonetisation increased financial savings of individuals: Personal finance expert

“The impact on savings has been positive. Money which was lying idle all over the place, for instance in lockers or home, was moved into the formal system. With interest rates going down, people started looking for alternative investment options and moved from real investment like gold to financial investments like MFs and equity. This increased financial savings in general,” Parag Paranjpe, certified financial planner and founder director of Think Consultants, told Firstpost’s Bindisha Sarang.

A year of Demonetisation: Ritika Khera speaks to Firstpost Hindi

Social scientist and noted economist Ritika Khera spoke to Firstpost Hindi and said that the demonetisation drive, as far as numbers are concerned, has failed. 

Rahul Gandhi sat down for an interaction with a select group of people from Surat's loom industry. #BJPMoneyLaunderingDay pic.twitter.com/LyQ7ErJ2sa

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 8, 2017

Parrikar says demonetisation has struck a low blow to anti-India forces

Former union minister and Goa CM Manohar Parrikar on Twitter said demonetisation has struck a blow to anti-India forces and had empowered the poor.

“Through increase in financial inclusion & formalisation of our economy, #Demonetisation empowered the poorest of poor,” Parrikar wrote on Twitter.

#Demonetisation was a reformist measure to weed out black money, strengthen our economy, & establish good governance. #AntiBlackMoneyDay

— Manohar Parrikar Memorial (@manoharparrikar) November 8, 2017

Coming soon, a book in memory of those who lost their lives in queues

‘Note-Bandi: Demonetisation and India’s Elusive Chase for Black Money’ is an upcoming book from Oxford University Press dedicated to the “memory of Indian citizens who lost their lives due to demonetisation”, IANS reported.

Excerpts from the preface by R Ramakumar.

‘Demonetisation’— the withdrawal of legal tender status of notes of denomination Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 — announced by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a televised address on 8 November 2016 will go down in history as one of the most reactionary and illogical economic policies ever attempted in independent India. 

It crippled an economy that ran on cash and was plagued by a slowdown; it destroyed the livelihoods of millions of farmers, workers, traders, women and the elderly; and it violated the dignity and liberty of law-abiding citizens. 

Yet, in a post-truth world, demonetisation also left public opinion in India deeply polarised. The language of the state had a deceptive appeal. In a society marked by abject poverty and inequality, and where everyday lives of citizens are marred by myriad forms of corruption, it came as no surprise that Modi’s misadventure was received as a decisive measure.

Narendra Modi govt needs to introspect where it went wrong

What we have is a situation that an everyman’s psychologist would describe as the government being in a state of eloquent denial being converted into brazen politics. There is, however, room to believe that the commoner on the street has even to this day bought into Modi’s call for a goldmine beyond the short-term sufferings. Remember that BJP swept comfortably to power in the nation’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. 

It would be better to look beyond the cop-and-robber chase and political bluster to see where the government actually might have gone wrong. At the heart of it all is a sort of cultural illiteracy that the BJP-led NDA has shown in dealing with the details of a mammoth, risky drive . That can apply to the goods and services tax (GST) as well, but that is another story.

RBI emerges as one of the most opaque govt institutions

In the last one year, the Reserve Bank of India has emerged as one the most opaque institutions in the country. The central bank, whose primary duty is to safeguard the interests of the common man, has stonewalled many an RTI query regarding the note ban.

It has to be remembered that the country’s central bank remained silent in the initial days of the ban when the citizens had a harrowing time with cash crunch at banks and ATMs coupled with long queues that also resulted in a few deaths. Not only did the bank stop giving regular updates early on, it tweaked the rules regarding cash withdrawal and deposit every now and then, compounding the problems of the people.

To an RTI query on why the decision was taken, it refused to give a reply Section 8(1)(a) of the Right to Information Act. This section allows a government institution to withhold “Information, [the] disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign state or lead to incitement of an offence.”

This prompted Shailesh Gandhi, former information commissioner of the country, to file a complaint against the RBI with the Central Information Commissioner. 

“This is sheer arrogance on the part of the RBI,” Gandhi told Firstpost in an interview.  The central bank has refused to give many important details to the public citing some or other reason – something a democratic institution should never do.

BJP leaders make #AntiBlackMoneyDay trend 

India's highest ever unearthing of black money -
•17.73 lakh suspicious cases identified, ₹ 3.68 lakh Crore in 23.22 lakh bank accounts under suspicion
• Undisclosed income worth Rs 29, 213 Crore was detected/admitted
#AntiBlackMoneyDay pic.twitter.com/TqYzbxZvxg

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) November 8, 2017

 BJP leaders slam Rahul Gandhi over latter’s criticism of Modi and Demonetisation

BJP leaders and Union ministers, including Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Law and Justice and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, slammed the Congress vice-president for attacking the BJP government over the move to demonetise. 

Rahul, earlier today, tweeted out saying demonetisation was a tragedy. Later, in an oped piece in Financial Times, the Congress VP called the prime minister an ’elected autocrat’, and said in a bid to emulate China, our youths are out of jobs.  According to him, the reasons for the rise of “elected autocrats, such as Mr Modi” are two: the increased internet connectivity that is increasing transparency and destroying the institutions that were information silos and the dominance of China in the global job market.

If Rahul Gandhi was in any other party he would've been shown the way out, wherever he steps in Congress loses elections: Ravi Shankar Prasad pic.twitter.com/QZuZEETrwT

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

Sheikh Chilli ke sapne dekh rahe hain Rahul Ji. India is becoming Congress-free, they are being driven out of states, one after the other: Piyush Goyal pic.twitter.com/MjXK1MzyOY

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

Stone pelters have reduced because of demonetisation: Nirmala Sithraman

On one year anniversary of demonetisation, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman says, “Biggest achievement is that terrorism has been badly hit and the stone pelters which were in thousands have reduced because their cash flow has been cut.”

Biggest achievement is that terrorism has been badly hit & the stone pelters which were in thousands have reduced because their cash flow has been cut: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on one year anniversary of #Demonetisation pic.twitter.com/vmQiwNdycU

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

The role of #Demonitisation in crippling left wing terrorism & stone pelting gangs of Kashmir is good news for all Indians. #DeMoWins pic.twitter.com/ifWks8Cn4k

— Syed Shahnawaz Hussain (@ShahnawazBJP) November 8, 2017

Did demonetisation move just widen the rich-poor divide in India?

One of the biggest problem that India is facing is the increasing inequality. And it is likely that the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 last year just heightened the problem.

This is what former prime minister Manmohan Singh told Bloomberg Quint in an interview: “I also worry about the longer term impact of demonetisation. Headline GDP may well start to show an improvement after the recent lows. But rising inequality has been a constant threat to our nature of economic development. Demonetisation may exacerbate such inequalities which can be harder to rectify in the future. In such a diverse country such as ours, inequality can prove to be a far greater social malaise than in other homogeneous nations.”

Earlier, Singh’s analyses about the impact of demonetisation has come true. He had earlier said that the GDP would fall 2 percent. The number for April-June shows that the fall in growth may, in fact, be much worse.

And in this case too, Singh’s fears are likely to come true. The reason is that even after one year, there has not been any let up in the jobs scenario. As long as the informal sector continues to be in shatters, one cannot expect any improvement on this front.

This will indeed have a direct impact on the financial situation of the lower strata of the society.

Did Narendra Modi think that black money is a stash that can be raided?

Year on, the question that still haunts the common man is: why did Prime Minister Narendra Modi take the step?

There has not been a clear answer to the question on why the ban was imposed. There were certain objectives the prime minister explained in the speech on 8 November, 2016. However, the narrative kept changing. From curbing black money, corruption and terror funding, the objective later changed to digitisation of the economy.

So what exactly was the reason? The government seems to be as clueless as the common man.

Noted economist Jean Dreze has an explanation for this. “Today, my hunch is that he meant what he said on 8 November last year. He really believed in the myth that black money is a gigantic hoard of cash, waiting to be raided,” Dreze said in an email interaction with Firstpost.

Did Narendra Modi think that black money is a stash that can be raided?

Year on, the question that still haunts the common man is: why did Prime Minister Narendra Modi take the step?

There has not been a clear answer to the question on why the ban was imposed. There were certain objectives the prime minister explained in the speech on 8 November, 2016. However, the narrative kept changing. From curbing black money, corruption and terror funding, the objective later changed to digitisation of the economy.

So what exactly was the reason? The government seems to be as clueless as the common man.

Noted economist Jean Dreze has an explanation for this. “Today, my hunch is that he meant what he said on 8 November last year. He really believed in the myth that black money is a gigantic hoard of cash, waiting to be raided,” Dreze said in an email interaction with Firstpost.

Yechury says ‘job losses, lives and livelihoods destroyed as the poorest of the poor were hit by Jumlanomics’

As note bandi finishes a year, Opposition leaders shared toons and messages on social media. Senior CPM leader Sitaram Yechury tweeted out several messages criticising the move which came a year ago and said, “If unreturned money from cooperative banks, Bhutan and Nepal taken in, more than 100% of demonetised currency would have returned. Black money converted to White courtesy demonetisation, and govt paying interest on laundered money.”

What is the Modi govt celebrating? A demonetisation disaster which brought the economy to a halt. pic.twitter.com/sXq6Jqfchk

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) November 7, 2017

Everything that we warned about demonetisation has come true; the most cruel attack on the vast majority of Indians, opening most vicious doors for corruption and crony capitalism.

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) November 8, 2017

Dead people in queues exemplify the misery. Job losses, lives and livelihoods destroyed as the poorest of the poor were hit by Jumlanomics which took 86% of the cash out in a midnight Tughlaqi firman.

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) November 8, 2017

If unreturned money from cooperative banks, Bhutan and Nepal taken in, more than 100% of demonetised currency would have returned. Black money converted to White courtesy demonetisation, and govt paying interest on laundered money.

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) November 8, 2017

China is not India, says Rahul Gandhi

On demonetisation anniversary, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi wrote a searing oped in Financial Times . The article criticised note ban and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political and economic policies.

• One year ago Narendra Modi bypassed the Reserve Bank of India, locked his cabinet in a room and gave the country just four hours notice before announcing his arbitrary and unilateral demonetisation scheme. Overnight 86 per cent of the value of India’s currency was withdrawn from circulation.

• Demonetisation has wiped out 2 per cent of India’s gross domestic product, destroyed the informal labour sector and has wiped out many small and medium businesses. It has ruined the lives of millions of hard-working Indians. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy has calculated that over 1.5m people lost their jobs in the first four months of 2017 due to demonetisation.

• The rise of democratically elected autocrats, such as Mr Modi, is driven by two factors: a massive increase in connectivity and its profound impact on institutions; and, second, China’s dominance of the global job market.

• This advantage comes with a brutal cost — China’s people are not free to speak, to dissent or to question and those that do are swiftly and severely punished. This is not a model India should emulate.

Mamata demands probe into ‘big scam’ demonetisation

In a Facebook post, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee slammed the Centre over the demonetisation drive and said, “Demonetisation is a big scam. I repeat, demonetisation is a big scam. If thorough investigation is conducted, this will be proved. Demonetisation was not to combat black money. It was only to convert black money into white money for vested interests of political party in power.”

‘Idea that illicit earnings are stashed away in an accumulating hoard is a source of endless confusion’

Jean Dreze told Firstpost that he questioned the real objective behind demonetisation. 

“Various hypotheses have been put forward. None of them really explain why the prime minister would want to take this sort of risk with the economy. Today, my hunch is that he meant what he said on 8 November last year. He really believed in the myth that black money is a gigantic hoard of cash, waiting to be raided.”

“In economics, black money essentially refers to illicit earnings. That is a flow, not a stock. Illicit earnings do not stay still and accumulate, like a hoard. They are used to buy Jaguars, shop in Dubai, fund lavish weddings and so on. In the process, black money gets laundered, so to speak. The wrong idea that illicit earnings are stashed away in an accumulating hoard is a source of endless confusion. At any particular point of time, of course, some black money is held in cash. But launching a one-off strike on that cash residual does very little to stem the flow of illicit earnings. It’s like a swipe of the mop under the running tap.”

The objectives outlined by Modi in his speech of 8 November, 2016 have certainly not been met: Jean Dreze

Development economist Jean Dreze had famously warned that “demonetisation in a booming economy is like shooting at the tyres of a racing car”. A year on, it seems his caution has come true. In the first quarter of the current financial year, the GDP growth slowed to a three-year low of 5.7 percent due to twin effect of goods services tax and note ban.

Firstpost did an email interview with Dreze. Here are the excerpts:

FP: It’s been a year since demonetisation. Do you see it as a success or as a failure?

Dreze: I think that it is best to be frank about demonetisation and admit that it was a goof-up. The objectives outlined by the prime minister in his speech of 8 November 2016 have certainly not been met. If there were other objectives, let him spell them out. Otherwise, let him accept that it was a blunder.

नोटबंदी गरीबों के लिये थी? जिन लोगों की जान चली गयी उनके परिवार की पीड़ा कुछ और ही कह रही है। #BJPMoneyLaunderingDay pic.twitter.com/YqkwhcxVeC

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 8, 2017

Shashi Tharoor tweets

The reasons my DP is black today, the 1st anniversary of the #DeMoDisaster: https://t.co/HydB8e3CAl #BJPMoneyLaunderingDay #Nov8BlackDay

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 8, 2017

Were the inconveniences worth it in the fight against black money?

In coming to terms with the fact that the announcement made 86.4 percent of Indian currency worthless, one of the queries posed to respondents was related to whether they felt the hardships they were suffering were worth it in the battle against black money. This was the second question to be put forward to respondents across 23 states and over 400 Lok Sabha constituencies over the process of six waves.

How much of a problem was the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes?

This is the first in a series of five big questions asked after the announcement of demonetisation on 8 November, 2016. C-Voter conducted opinion polls over the course of six waves in order to map out the trajectory of opinions over time. Here is the first set of findings of the C-Voter Tracking Poll on Demonetisation.

On 1st anniversary of #BJPMoneyLaunderingDay, a poisonous smog hangs over Delhi & the Indian economy.
But, the Winds of Change are coming..

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 8, 2017

Piyush Goyal tweets says demonetisation has pushed India towards a transparent, formal economy

Black money has been there for a long time. Demonetisation has pushed India towards a transparent, formal economy. #AntiBlackMoneyDay pic.twitter.com/D5fULyj7bQ

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) November 8, 2017

Prithviraj Chavan demands parliamentary panel probe into ‘real intention’

Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday demanded a probe by a joint parliamentary committee to ascertain the “real intention” behind the Centre’s demonetisation exercise.

“As time passed after demonetisation, a different scenario came up, contradicting the initial claims made by the prime minister on November 8 (last year), while announcing the exercise. This was an impulsive decision which hurt the country to no ends,” Chavan told PTI.

He alleged that after it became clear that the initial claims put forward as reasons behind the decision to scrap high-value currency notes did not prove to be true, the goalpost was shifted.

“After the RBI said that all the money had come back into the system, Jaitleyji (Finance Minister Arun Jaitley) had said the intention behind demonetisation was digitisation. Now the question that arises is, was the prime minister aware of the real intention or was he kept in the dark,” Chavan said.

“There should be a probe by a joint parliamentary committee to ascertain whether the prime minister knew that the real intention (behind demonetisation) was digitisation or was he also kept in the dark about the whole process and its repercussions,” he added. — PTI

Rahul Gandhi calls demonetisation a ’tragedy’

"एक आँसू भी हुकूमत के लिए ख़तरा है
तुमने देखा नहीं आँखों का समुंदर होना" pic.twitter.com/r9NuCkmO6t

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 8, 2017

Demonetisation is a tragedy. We stand with millions of honest Indians, whose lives & livelihoods were destroyed by PM’s thoughtless act.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 8, 2017

Demonetisation effect? Ravi Shankar Prasad says prostitution has nosedived, thanks to note ban

On the eve of the first anniversary of demonetisation, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today claimed that flesh trade and trafficking of women had reduced substantially in the country due to the move. He also claimed that the economic move brought down the number of stone-pelting incidents in Kashmir and put a check on Naxal activities.

“Flesh trade has nosedived in India. Trafficking of women and girls has gone down considerably,” the law minister told reporters here while listing the “achievements of demonetisation”, a day before the Congress-led opposition’s proposed “Black Day” protest. “Due to the flesh trade, a huge amount of cash used to flow to Nepal and Bangladesh…Notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 (now junked) were used to make payments in the flesh trade, which has now come down,” he said.

Narendra Modi tweets on demonetisation anniversary, says 125 crore Indians “fought and WON”

In a series of tweets, Modi on Wednesday “congratulated” the people of the country who “fought a decisive battle and WON.” The prime minister sent out four tweets asking Twitterati, “What do you feel about the efforts to uproot corruption & black money.”

125 crore Indians fought a decisive battle and WON. #AntiBlackMoneyDay pic.twitter.com/3NPqEBhqGq

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 8, 2017

I bow to the people of India for steadfastly supporting the several measures taken by the Government to eradicate corruption and black money. #AntiBlackMoneyDay

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 8, 2017

Here are the benefits of demonetisation, encapsulated in this short film. Have a look. #AntiBlackMoneyDay pic.twitter.com/rPmGUYnTzI

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 8, 2017

What do you feel about the efforts to uproot corruption & black money. Tell me through this survey. https://t.co/TYuxNNJfIf pic.twitter.com/eZB4tI9EmS

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 8, 2017

‘I bow to the people of India’

“I bow to the people of India for steadfastly supporting the several measures taken by the Government to eradicate corruption and black money,” tweets Modi.

I bow to the people of India for steadfastly supporting the several measures taken by the Government to eradicate corruption and black money. #AntiBlackMoneyDay

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 8, 2017

Why demonetisation was a political move rather than an economic reform

A year on, as the economy still grapples with the negative impacts of the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, one thing is becoming loud and clear: it was a political move not an economic reform.

As this Firstpost article notes, it did definitely give political dividends for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. 

“This was Modi’s biggest political gamble ever since he came to power at the Centre in 2014. Modi sold demonetisation as the big war of poor on the undeserving rich in the society. Rallies after rallies, Modi called upon the middle class and the poor to suffer pain to achieve the larger objective of a cleaner, transparent society,” he says.

It has to be remembered that there is no sufficient data made available in the public domain to do an economic analysis.

It is not even clear why the government took a decision to ban the high value notes. Was there any evidence of an increase in terror funding using fake currency? Was there a sudden surge in generation of black money? 

As long as the authorities – the RBI and various government departments – continue to stonewall all the RTI applications, demonetization will continue to be the most politically-motivated economic decision.

Narendra Modi tweets video encapsulating benefits of demonetisation

Here are the benefits of demonetisation, encapsulated in this short film. Have a look. #AntiBlackMoneyDay pic.twitter.com/rPmGUYnTzI

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 8, 2017

Congress organises marathon to mark ‘Black Day’

Chhattisgarh: Marathon organised by Congress to observe 'black day' on one year anniversary of #Demonetisation pic.twitter.com/w0wHVB5riO

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2017

Youth Congress members outside RBI office 

Youth Congress protest outside RBI office in Delhi on one year of #Demonetisation pic.twitter.com/c1xCvS7OFp

— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2017

RECAP: Arun Jaitley addresses media 

WATCH: FM Arun Jaitley addresses the media in Delhi https://t.co/7XRDIyV49J

— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2017

One Year Ago: Modi’s Speech On Discontinuation Of Rs 500 And Rs 1,000 Bank Notes

My dear citizens,

I hope you ended the festive season of Diwali with joy and new hope. Today, I will be speaking to you about some critical issues and important decisions. Today I want to make a special request to all of you. You may recall the economic situation in May 2014 when you entrusted us with an onerous responsibility. In the context of BRICS, it was being said that the “I” in BRICS was shaky. Since then, we had two years of severe drought. Yet, in the last two and a half years with the support of 125 crore Indians, India has become the “bright spot” in the global economy. It is not just we who are saying this; it is being stated by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

In this effort for development, our motto has been ‘Sab Ka Saath Sab Ka Vikas’: We are with all citizens and for development of all citizens. This Government is dedicated to the poor. It will remain dedicated to them. In our fight against poverty, our main thrust has been to empower the poor, and make them active participants in the benefits of economic progress.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana,

the Jan Suraksha Yojana,

the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana for small enterprises,

the Stand-up India programme for Dalits, Adivasis and Women,

the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Scheme for gas connections in the homes of the poor,

the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana to protect the income of farmers,

the Soil Health Card Scheme to ensure the best possible yield from farmers’ fields,

and the e-NAM National Market Place scheme to ensure farmers get the right price for their produce

—these are all reflections of this approach.

In the past decades, the spectre of corruption and black money has grown. It has weakened the effort to remove poverty. On the one hand, we are now No. 1 in the rate of economic growth. But on the other hand, we were ranked close to one hundred in the global corruption perceptions ranking two years back. In spite of many steps taken, we have only been able to reach a ranking of seventy-six now. Of course, there is improvement. This shows the extent to which corruption and black money have spread their tentacles.

The evil of corruption has been spread by certain sections of society for their selfish interest. They have ignored the poor and cornered benefits. Some people have misused their office for personal gain. On the other hand, honest people have fought against this evil. Crores of common men and women have lived lives of integrity. We hear about poor auto-rickshaw drivers returning gold ornaments left in the vehicles to their rightful owners. We hear about taxi drivers who take pains to locate the owners of cell phones left behind. We hear of vegetable vendors who return excess money given by customers.

There comes a time in the history of a country’s development when a need is felt for a strong and decisive step. For years, this country has felt that corruption, black money and terrorism are festering sores, holding us back in the race towards development.

Terrorism is a frightening threat. So many have lost their lives because of it. But have you ever thought about how these terrorists get their money? Enemies from across the border run their operations using fake currency notes. This has been going on for years. Many times, those using fake five hundred and thousand rupee notes have been caught and many such notes have been seized.

Brothers and sisters,

On the one hand is the problem of terrorism; on the other is the challenge posed by corruption and black money. We began our battle against corruption by setting up an SIT headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, immediately upon taking office. Since then

• a law was passed in 2015 for disclosure of foreign black money;

• agreements with many countries, including the USA, have been made to add provisions for sharing banking information;

• a strict law has come into force from August 2016 to curb benami transactions, which are used to deploy black money earned through corruption;

• a scheme was introduced for declaring black money after paying a stiff penalty;

My dear countrymen,

Through all these efforts, in the last two and a half years, we have brought into the open nearly 1 lakh 25 thousand crore rupees of black money belonging to the corrupt. Honest citizens want this fight against corruption, black money, benami property, terrorism and counterfeiting to continue. Which honest citizen would not be pained by reports of crores worth of currency notes stashed under the beds of government officers? Or by reports of cash found in gunny bags?

The magnitude of cash in circulation is directly linked to the level of corruption. Inflation becomes worse through the deployment of cash earned in corrupt ways. The poor have to bear the brunt of this. It has a direct effect on the purchasing power of the poor and the middle class. You may yourself have experienced when buying land or a house, that apart from the amount paid by cheque, a large amount is demanded in cash. This creates problems for an honest person in buying property. The misuse of cash has led to artificial increase in the cost of goods and services like houses, land, higher education, health care and so on.

High circulation of cash also strengthens the hawala trade which is directly connected to black money and illegal trade in weapons. Debate on the role of black money in elections has been going on for years.

Brothers and sisters,

To break the grip of corruption and black money, we have decided that the five hundred rupee and thousand rupee currency notes presently in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight tonight, that is 8th November 2016. This means that these notes will not be acceptable for transactions from midnight onwards. The five hundred and thousand rupee notes hoarded by anti-national and anti-social elements will become just worthless pieces of paper. The rights and the interests of honest, hard-working people will be fully protected. Let me assure you that notes of one hundred, fifty, twenty, ten, five, two and one rupee and all coins will remain legal tender and will not be affected.

This step will strengthen the hands of the common man in the fight against corruption, black money and fake currency. To minimise the difficulties of citizens in the coming days, several steps are being taken.

1. Persons holding old notes of five hundred or one thousand rupees can deposit these notes in their bank or post office accounts from 10th November till close of banking hours on 30th December 2016 without any limit.

2. Thus you will have 50 days to deposit your notes and there is no need for panic.

3. Your money will remain yours. You need have no worry on this point.

4. After depositing your money in your account, you can draw it when you need it.

5. Keeping in mind the supply of new notes, in the first few days, there will be a limit of ten thousand rupees per day and twenty thousand rupees per week. This limit will be increased in the coming days.

6. Apart from depositing your notes in your bank account, another facility will also be there.

7. For your immediate needs, you can go to any bank, head post office or sub post office, show your identity proof like Aadhaar card, voter card, ration card, passport, PAN card or other approved proofs, and exchange your old five hundred or thousand rupee notes for new notes.

8. From 10th November till 24th November the limit for such exchange will be four thousand rupees. From 25th November till 30th December, the limit will be increased.

9. There may be some who, for some reason, are not able to deposit their old five hundred or thousand rupee notes by 30th December 2016.

10. They can go to specified offices of the Reserve Bank of India up to 31st March 2017 and deposit the notes after submitting a declaration form.

11. On 9th November and in some places on 10th November also, ATMs will not work. In the first few days, there will be a limit of two thousand rupees per day per card.

12. This will be raised to four thousand rupees later.

13. Five hundred and thousand rupee notes will not be legal tender from midnight. However for humanitarian reasons, to reduce hardship to citizens, some special arrangements have been made for the first 72 hours, that is till midnight on 11th November.

14. During this period, government hospitals will continue to accept five hundred and thousand rupee notes for payment.

15. This is for the benefit of those families whose members may be unwell.

16. Pharmacies in government hospitals will also accept these notes for buying medicines with doctors’ prescription.

17. For 72 hours, till midnight on 11th November, railway ticket booking counters, ticket counters of government buses and airline ticket counters at airports will accept the old notes for purchase of tickets. This is for the benefit of those who may be travelling at this time.

18. For 72 hours, five hundred and thousand rupee notes will be accepted also at

• Petrol, diesel and CNG gas stations authorised by public sector oil companies

• Consumer co-operative stores authorised by State or Central Government

• Milk booths authorised by State governments

• Crematoria and burial grounds.

These outlets will have to keep proper records of stock and collections.

19. Arrangements will be made at international airports for arriving and departing passengers who have five hundred or thousand rupee notes of not more than five thousand rupees, to exchange them for new notes or other legal tender.

20. Foreign tourists will be able to exchange foreign currency or old notes of not more than Rs 5000 into legal tender.

21. One more thing I would like to mention, I want to stress that in this entire exercise, there is no restriction of any kind on non-cash payments by cheques, demand drafts, debit or credit cards and electronic fund transfer.

Brothers and sisters,

In spite of all these efforts there may be temporary hardships to be faced by honest citizens. Experience tells us that ordinary citizens are always ready to make sacrifices and face difficulties for the benefit of the nation. I see that spirit when a poor widow gives up her LPG subsidy, when a retired school teacher contributes his pension to the Swacch Bharat mission, when a poor Adivasi mother sells her goats to build a toilet, when a soldier contributes 57 thousand rupees to make his village clean. I have seen that the ordinary citizen has the determination to do anything, if it will lead to the country’s progress.

So, in this fight against corruption, black money, fake notes and terrorism, in this movement for purifying our country, will our people not put up with difficulties for some days? I have full confidence that every citizen will stand up and participate in this ‘mahayagna’. My dear countrymen, after the festivity of Diwali, now join the nation and extend your hand in this Imandaari ka Utsav, this Pramanikta ka Parv, this celebration of integrity, this festival of credibility.

I am sure that all political parties, all governments, social services organizations, the media and indeed all sections of the society will take part in this with enthusiasm and make it a success.

My dear countrymen,

Secrecy was essential for this action. It is only now, as I speak to you, that various agencies like banks, post offices, railways, hospitals and others are being informed. The Reserve Bank, banks and post offices have to make many arrangements at very short notice. Obviously, time will be needed. Therefore all banks will be closed to the public on 9th November. This may cause some hardship to you. I have full faith that banks and post offices will successfully carry out this great task of national importance. However, I appeal to all of you to help the banks and post offices to meet this challenge with poise and determination.

My dear citizens,

From time to time, based on currency needs, the Reserve Bank with the approval of the Central Government brings out new notes of higher value. In 2014, the Reserve Bank sent a recommendation for issue of five thousand and ten thousand rupee notes. After careful consideration, this was not accepted. Now as part of this exercise, RBI’s recommendation to issue two thousand rupee notes has been accepted. New notes of five hundred rupees and two thousand rupees, with completely new design will be introduced. Based on past experience, the Reserve Bank will hereafter make arrangements to limit the share of high denomination notes in the total currency in circulation.

In a country’s history, there come moments when every person feels he too should be part of that moment, that he too should make his contribution to the country’s progress. Such moments come but rarely. Now, we again have an opportunity where every citizen can join this mahayajna against the ills of corruption, black money and fake notes. The more help you give in this campaign, the more successful it will be.

It has been a matter of concern for all of us that corruption and black money tend to be accepted as part of life. This type of thinking has afflicted our politics, our administration and our society like an infestation of termites. None of our public institutions is free from these termites.

Time and again, I have seen that when the average citizen has to choose between accepting dishonesty and bearing inconvenience, they always choose to put up with inconvenience. They will not support dishonesty.

Once again, let me invite you to make your contribution to this grand sacrifice for cleansing our country, just as you cleaned up your surroundings during Diwali.

Let us ignore the temporary hardship

Let us join this festival of integrity and credibility

Let us enable coming generations to live their lives with dignity

Let us fight corruption and black money

Let us ensure that the nation’s wealth benefits the poor

Let us enable law-abiding citizens to get their due share.

I am confident in the 125 crore people of India and I am sure country will get success.

Thank you very much. Thanks a lot.

Namaskar.

Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

A timeline of Narendra Modi’s grand Indian currency show

On 8 November 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the biggest-ever demonetisation exercise India has ever seen by abruptly withdrawing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from public use in a bid to clamp down on black money, fake currency menace, terror funding and corruption.

Modi said there are certain exemptions for the first 72 hours, including permission to use old currency in government hospitals, for buying fuel, medicines, train tickets, airline tickets, in government buses and for paying utility bills.

Exchange of notes were initially allowed up to Rs 4,000 while cash withdrawal at ATMs was capped at Rs 2,000 per card per day and withdrawal at banks were allowed with a limit of Rs 10,000 per day and Rs 20,000 per week. Since then, rules have changed many times.

Congress says demonetisation anti-people, BJP says it has cleaned economy

Calling demonetisation “anti-people”, the Congress and several Opposition parties will hold protests against note ban in several parts of the country.

Unfazed by the opposition criticism, the BJP has claimed deminetisation led to a cleaner economy.

BJP-Congress face-off over noteban

The BJP and the Congress-led opposition will face off over demonetisation when the ruling party observes ‘anti-black money day’ and the latter a ‘black day’ to mark the first anniversary of the announcement of the exercise by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP leaders, including many Union ministers, will fan out across the country to highlight the “benefits” of demonetisation. on the first anniversary of the exercise.

Updates for 8 November begins here

This attitude of suspecting everyone to be a thief or anti national is damaging to the democratic discourse: Manmohan Singh in Ahmedabad

None of the stated objectives for #Demonetisation have been met. Hear it from Dr. ManMohan singh #DeMoDisaster pic.twitter.com/63FUbvli5f

— Ramya/Divya Spandana (@divyaspandana) November 7, 2017

Demonetisation was short-term pain for long-term gain: Rajnath Singh

आर्थिक सुधारों के लिए जब कुछ बड़े और थोड़े कड़े फैसले लिए जाते हैं तो भले ही short-term pain होता है पर उससे अंततः long-term gain होता है। pic.twitter.com/RXhmERU5ew

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) November 7, 2017

NIA seized old notes worth Rs 36 Crore from Kashmir as govt claims note ban throttled terrorism

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday claimed it had seized nearly Rs 36.5 crore in demonetised notes during its probe into the Kashmir terror funding case.

“We have seized demonetised currency of face value Rs 36,34,78,500 and arrested nine persons in this connection in the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case,” the NIA said.

However, details of the seizure were not known immediately or whether the arrests included separatist leaders and Kashmiri businessmen who are in Tihar Jail on charges of terror funding.

Massive crackdown on terror funding | NIA seizes denotified currency worth Rs. 36 crores, 9 arrested in the case pic.twitter.com/cimBthVdP4

— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 7, 2017

Watch: One Year Of Demonetisation – A Look Back At The Timeline

Highest ever unearthing of black money has taken place in India after demonetisation: Prasad

Highest ever detection/unearthing of black money has taken place in India after demonetization. #DeMoWins pic.twitter.com/kMuyECxWB4

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) November 7, 2017

UPA delayed implementation, while BJP worked for a more honest India: Prasad

The UPA had delayed the implementation of many key laws whereas BJP implemented theBanking Act, Black Money act and took many other steps to work for a more honest India, Prasad said.

Law  Minsiter Ravi Shankar Prasad brief media on demonetisation

An anti-black money drive is a moral step, loot toh vo hoti hai jo 2G, CWG mein huyi, coal block allocation mein huyi: FM Jaitley

— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2017

Manmohan Singh should compare India’s global credibility under BJP and UPA regimes: Jaitley

All that Dr Singh has to do is to compare global credibility of Indian economy pre 2014 and post 2014: FM Arun Jaitley pic.twitter.com/plnS4traLX

— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2017

Due process will be followed on Paradise Papers: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the due process under the Income Tax act will be followed in the revelations made under Paradise Papers. He said appropriate action will be taken against the guilty after the due investigation.

Next generation will get honest system to live in: Arun Jaitley on demonetisation 

Describing demonetisation as a watershed moment in the country’s economic history, Jaitley said the move has met its objective of reducing cash in the economy, ending anonymity of cash, bringing in more individuals in the tax net and dealing a body blow to black money. 

The benefits may not yet be visible to some people, he said, adding that the next generation will view the post- November, 2016 economic development with a great sense of pride as it has provided them a fair and honest system to live in.

Post #demonetisation our country has moved on to a much cleaner, transparent&honest financial system.Which will benefit future generations.

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) November 7, 2017

Congress objective to serve one family: Arun Jaitley

“Under the Congress regime, the aim has been to serve just one family. The economy suffered a massive loot under UPA in various scams. This is why Congress’ views on ethics and morals are different from ours. Their opposition is understandable,” Jaitley said taking a dig at the Congress.

The status quo in Indian economy needed to be shaken: Arun Jaitley

Indian Economy suffered from a policy paralysis under the UPA rule for the last ten years. It was the BJP that had shaken the status quo. Until last year, it was the norm that cash would be the predominant mode of transaction in our economy. This was changed after demonetisation.

DeMo a watershed moment: Arun Jaitley

Addressing a press conference, just a day before the first anniversary of demonetisation, Jaitley said that the announcement of the note ban was a watershed moment in India’s economy. He said that it was important that the government remained undaunted of the criticism, because it was natural for people to be skeptical of new things.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addresses a press conference ahead of DeMo anniversary