-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...

-The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy The government’s high profile war on black money has generated mixed responses. However, both supporters and opponents of the 2016 demonetisation agree that the move has caused immense hardship to people, especially those outside the banking system and without alternative means to access goods and services in a largely cash economy. Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, discusses the conceptual, practical,...

-Hindustan Times New Delhi: The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes is unlikely to help the government suck out black money from the economy as hoarders keep a tiny portion of their ill-gotten wealth in hard cash, going by income-tax data. Cash recovery has been less than 6% of the undisclosed income seized from tax evaders, shows an HT analysis of data from tax raids from financial year 2012-13 onwards. In...

-Business Standard On day-2 of the demonetization drive, serpentine queues have reported from banks and ATMs around the country World Bank Chief Economist and India’s former chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu said that the Narendra Modi government’s demonetization drive was not ‘good economics’ and that the damage it causes will be greater than its benefits. “GST was good economics; the demonetization is not. Its economics is complex & the collateral damage is likely...

-Business Standard There is a widespread panic among farmers, who were preparing for the next Rabi season New Delhi: There is a widespread panic among farmers, who had recently harvested their paddy crop, and were preparing for the next Rabi season. They fear that in the absence of new currency notes they will miss out on the crucial sowing time. This is most crucial time for a farmer when he not only...