-TheWire.in The spectacle of ‘fixing’ India’s illegal economy is not only harming common citizens but also turning small investors away from financial markets. Depending on who is talking, the demonetisation of higher value currency notes by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has either been described by commentators as a ‘bold move’, ‘landmark policy’, ‘game-changer’ and even a ‘political masterstroke’ or has been labelled the single most high-risk political gamble undertaken since the...

-TheWire.in In conversation with economist Prabhat Patnaik on the government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation at 8 pm and announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes would no longer be legal tender after midnight that night. This move was needed to tackle the “disease of black money,” he said. Since then, their have been numerous reports of how...

-The Indian Express Ban on Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes deals with stocks of black money. But push to a cashless economy is premature. The sudden and dramatic announcement by the prime minister banning Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes issued by the Reserve Bank of India has a number of objectives. Among them are tackling counterfeit notes, curbing black money and restricting finance for subversive activities. While progress will be made by...

-Livemint.com Demonetization could cause temporary pain to those who have unaccounted incomes One of the biggest issues which helped Prime Minister Narendra Modi capture power in 2014 was the promise to crack down on corruption and black money. Midway in his tenure, he has announced scrapping of currency notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 to curb black money and other illegal activities such as counterfeiting of notes and money laundering. Given the fact...

-Scroll.in Even the long-term benefits of the move seem to be outweighed by the heavy costs and disruption it would cause, particularly for the lower income groups. The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes came as a surprise to almost everyone. The details of re-monetisation are still to become entirely clear. What follows is a set of personal opinions of likely outcomes arising from this move to demonetise. Each...