On DeMo, yet another goal post change

FM counts benefits which happen to be different from original objectives

GN Bureau | June 1, 2017


#Finance Minister   #Finance Ministry   #Arun Jaitley   #Narendra Modi   #Demonetisation   #Economy  
  Arun Jaitley, union minister for finance, corporate affairs and defence, addressing a press conference on the achievements of the ministry of finance during 3 years of NDA government
Arun Jaitley, union minister for finance, corporate affairs and defence, addressing a press conference on the achievements of the ministry of finance during 3 years of NDA government


Some think there is only one way to score a bull’s eye, by hitting the bull’s eye. Then there are creative souls, who first shoot, and then draw a bull’s eye around the mark.
 
When it was announced, demonetisation was supposed to counter (a) black money, (b) terrorism, and (c) counterfeits. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s November 8 Address to the Nation does not mention the word ‘cashless’.
 
Addressing the press on the completion of three years of the NDA government, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday counted three benefits of demonetisation: (a) increase in cashless transactions, (b) increase in the taxpayer base, and (c) the message that it’s not safe to have cash transactions.
 
Of course, the two benefits on the tax aspect (b and c) are part of the drive towards eliminating unaccounted money – but they could’ve been achieved without subjecting the 1.2 billion people to untold suffering. The first benefit, drive towards cashless transaction, is welcome, but again it did not need such grave push, and it is already petering out too.
 
Indeed, demonetisation is blamed for a slowing down of the economy: Wednesday’s CSO announcement put the GDP growth in the quarter ending in March 2017 at 6.1 – lowest in this government’s term. This is something many economists and opposition leaders including former prime minister Manmohan Singh had feared.
 
However, the government is not ready to believe. Jaitley told the press that some slowdown was visible even prior demonetisation. Since GDP growth rate in the previous quarter was a healthy 7.0, it would need some torture of selective data to find that slowdown – not to mention the explanation of the fact that this slowdown has been spoken of only now and not before.

Comments

 

Other News

Air Pollution: What needs to be done to tame the silent killer

Air pollution in Delhi has been in headlines, as every year in recent times. Mumbai too has suffered from air pollution, despite being a coastal city. Apart from many other metros such as Bangalore and Kolkata, tier-I and -II cities and rural areas also have high pollution levels. Every year reports and st

Free food grains for 81.35 cr beneficiaries for five years

The central government will provide free food grains to about 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) for a period of five years with effect from January 1, 2024, the cabinet decided on Wednesday. Terming it as a “historic decision”, a

“I wrote ‘Survival at Stake’ to provide food for thought about solutions”

Survival at Stake: How Our Treatment of Animals Is Key to Human Existence By Poorva Joshipura HarperCollins, 328 pages, Rs 499 With science now recognising animal consciousness, intelligence, emotion, and even morality, there must rise an awareness of

‘Bon Voyage’ through the Arctic: Exploring new horizons for India

India`s tryst with trade through the Arctic regions, including the Northern Sea Routes (NSR), has become an impact-making endeavor recently. The Arctic of yore is now a pivot – point of geopolitics, of climate change discussions, and for economic opportunities; 40% of oil and gas reserves said to be

Demystifying Contemporary Finance Theory and other lessons in investment

Investing Decoded: Simple Path To Building A Portfolio In Millions By Anirudh Rathore Penguin India, 320 pages, Rs 499

Deepfake: India to prepare four-point action plan

Deepfake has emerged as a serious threat to democracy and social institutions across the world. Propagation of deepfake content via social media platforms has aggravated this challenge. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has, from time to time, advised social media in

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter