Digital payment companies have showered praise on prime minister Modi for what they described as a bold decision to scrap currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination. Some na
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation on Tuesday evening caught everyone, not just black money hoarders, by surprise. Minutes after the announcement, the news about Rs 500 and
While you are in queue to get your cash replaced at banks and post-offices or awaiting your turn at ATMs, we present a quick reading list that might give you certain idea on demonetisation, bla
As soon as the government announced its decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on the night of November 8, there has been an emergency-like situation across the country. With serpentine q
The man standing in front of me shifted his weight from his left leg to the right leg. A minute later he gazed forlornly at the serpentine queue outside the ATM, adjusted his spectacles and shifted
“It’s a war; it’s a mahayajnya. You have to decide on whose side you are.” -- M Venkaiah Naidu, in parliament on November 17 In
While the nation struggles to adapt to changes since demonetisation, foreign media has been widely covering the Narendra Modi government’s move and the public’s response.
What Sitaram Yechury of CPM said during the demonetisation debate in the Rajya Sabha on November 16 (mildly edited and truncated for clarity): [...] If you don’t
“Mom, I have no cash, can’t come home. Can you come here and bring along some money?” The early morning SOS message from my daughter, a student of tourism studies in Agra, o
It’s been 10 days of suffering and chaos for people,and the way the government is continuously learning from its mistakes - announcing reliefs and exemptions, and then even rolling back some
“Our farmers have been modifying their crops for centuries through the method of conventional breeding. But here we have not modified but *genetically engineered* the mustard parental l
“I was branch manager at the SBI branch in Meerut. Rs 1,000 was a very big amount those days and Rs 500 denomination currency did not exist. The target group at that time were only rich
You have read (or heard or seen) countless analyses, points-counterpoints, theories-conspiracy theories and allegations-counter-allegations on the historic move to ban high-denomination currency no
Demonetisation is not the way to tackle black economy and it will in fact affect the white economy, believes Arun Kumar, a former professor of economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JN
Murugammal, 45, has an unhealthy pale appearance. She has no money to go and get her further medical tests done. She goes inside her thatched hut to fetch an X-ray report. “I just had Rs 1,00
In what could be seen as a direct impact of demonetization on the transport sector, huge inventories have piled up at Gas Authority of India Limited’s (GAIL) petrochemicals facilities a
“It is not necessary to have re-introduction of Rs 1,000 when there is already a Rs 2,000 rupee and Rs 500 rupee new note. There is no as such compelling reason but as far as it i
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday doubled the balance that can be kept in prepaid wallets and cards to Rs 20,000. Also, merchants can transfer up to Rs 50,000 per month from these so-cal
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday doubled the balance that can be kept in prepaid wallets and cards to Rs 20,000. Also, merchants can transfer up to Rs 50,000 per month from these
By far the most sweeping change in currency policy that has occurred anywhere in the world in decades: that’s what former US treasury secretary and Harvard economist Lawrence H Summers along
After prime minister Narendra Modi announced demonetization on November 8, people were allowed to use the old currency notes at government hospitals, railway ticketing, public transport, airline ti
Remember the Lokpal? The one-point panacea for all corruption and black money. It is a law, on the statute book. And while the government has launched a surgical strike against black money that has
Someone breathlessly said: “Mobile ATM has come. Mobile ATM has come.” The message had an electrifying effect on the employees. Amid whoops of joy, they promptly went scurrying out of t
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Arun Jaitley sparred over demonetization in parliament on Thursday. Manmohan spoke of the “monumental management failure” in im
The sudden announcement of demonetisation came as an inconvenience to 76-year-old SK Nangia. The morning after November 8, he had to travel to Hastinapur from Delhi by road, covering a distance o
Since November 8, never-ending queues, rising tempers, despair and frustration have become a routine. It’s a nightmare for people who are struggling to deposit or exchange money at banks. And
Prime minister Narendra Modi has asked all MPs and MLAs of his party to come clean, and declare their bank transaction details to the party chief. Somewhat like demonetisation itself, it is pointle
The prime minister has directed MPs of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to declare their bank transactions to the president of the party in a bid to lead by example to come clean on their actions a
As part of the government, how do you look at demonetisation? It’s by far the bold… the boldest of all the steps, in line with several other steps the g
Demonetisation has taken the Indian economy and social media by a storm. We are all facing much inconvenience due to shortage of cash in hand. Hence, we need to find more ways to survive with
Chances are you have already chosen which side of the fence you are on when it comes to the demonetisation debate. Demonetising 86% of the currency is an unprecedented step and India is flying by t
Like many of us in India, Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard professor and former chief economist at IMF, backs the logic behind India’s demonetisation and balks at its implementation.
Villages are emptying out, but 67 percent of people still live in rural and semi-rural areas – where there are few banks, where getting to an ATM may take half a day, where many have not seen
On November 8, the Government of India announced its decision to pull high-value currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 denomination out of circulation, with immediate effect. A detailed procedure
How do you see demonetisation as a way of curbing black economy? Demonetisation is not the way to tackle black economy. The reason is that the black money is in circulation
Reasons given for demonetisation To control counterfeit notes that could contribute to terrorism To undermine or eliminate black econom
Demonetisation has been testing the patience of the public across the country. Imphal, the capital of Manipur, is no exception.
Do you think demonetization will help weed out black money? It is too early to say. Only when the final results are in by December 31, we will know if black money has bee
Dr KC Chakrabarty, former deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India, headed currency management at the central bank before taking premature retirement in March 2014. Known for his frank an
India’s surprise demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes will likely dampen growth this year, but South Asia remains the region’s fastest-growing sub-region, said the Asian Deve
If you are planning to file a revised income tax return following demonetisation, then be warned. The income tax department will be looking out for manipulation or fudging and such cases may be tak
CMAI association of India will soon launch online training programmes for free and an educational campaign for the use of e-transactions, the association announced at a press conference held in Del
The government has initiated numerous steps to combat the scourge of corruption and black money in the last two and a half years, said NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Thursday. Addres
India is in the throes of an unprecedented social experiment in enforced digital disruption, and the world has much to learn from it, said an article: ‘India’s Botched War on Ca
For a single woman to live in a city like Delhi is not an easy task. People are amazed when I say; I have been staying alone for more than a decade now. They wonder what it takes to live such a lif
How can one sustain people’s support for demonetisation when they are beginning to realise that there was zero planning behind it, none of its touted benefits are coming true, and their pain
The Indian government has audaciously put the demonetisation show on the road, though with little consideration of infrastructural, banking and connectivity back-up. After making his own set of pol
A close friend, stock market wizard and intellectual sparring partner, also a Marvel Comics and Stan Lee fan, has been keenly following the demonetisation debate in media and elsewhere. &ld
One thing consistent about demonetisation has been the ever-changing rules. Monday saw a new rule in place. One can now deposit the scrapped currency of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
Anya Shankar, a resident of Delhi, became nervous when her Paytm passbook went blank. A message from the company popped on her screen saying it was a “temporary glitch”. “Because
The longer run impact of demonetisation on formal domestic remittances could be significant. Following up on a major financial inclusion initiative (Jan Dhan Yojana) and new payments banks, this mo
Calling demonetisation a bold step by the Narendra Modi government, CMAI association of India noted that the move will help curb black money from the economy and push digital economy.
I was glued to the television screen, following the US presidential election coverage. In the midst of an extremely intense television debate, where each participant was grappling for airtime
The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday withdrew its order of December 19 which had stipulated that the demonetised currency notes could be deposited only once in the quantum of Rs 5,000 or mo
Liquidity conditions have undergone large shifts in Q3 so far, said the Reserve Bank of India which added that surplus conditions in October and early November were overwhelmed by the impac
Mangal Bhai Rama Harijan is a craftsman from Kawada village, 50 kilometres from the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, the place where India’s most prominent cultural festival takes place every
Prime minister Narendra Modi, for so long a darling of business and industry, has received an editorial rap from business glossy Forbes for demonetisation. The move, which is being criticised heavi
Public sector today plays a big role in the economy and it is in “direct competition with the private sector”, said Ram Vilas Paswan, union minister of consumer affairs, food and public
“This government will continue to follow sound and prudent economic policies, to ensure that India has a bright future in the long run. We will not take decisions for short term political poi
How would you describe the post-truth phenomenon in the Indian context? Speaking in the context of post-truth, we have a live instance of it in the demonetisation pl
From demonetisation’s impact on the digital economy to the growth of IT industry in the Trump era, NASSCOM president R Chandrashekhar shares his views with Taru Bhatia.&n
Rejecting the allegation of more than Rs 104 crore deposits in the bank account of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) post demonetisation, BSP supremo Mayawati launched a seething attack at the centre a
The right to food campaign is dismayed by the Indian government`s reckless attempt to renew currency notes, known as "demonetization", without any serious attention to the consequences it
2016 has been an eventful year on social media. Right from #Notebandi to #Rio2016 as well as #DelhiPollution and #SurgicalStrikes, people discussed and hotly debated on mini blogging site Twitter a
“Assessment can be unreal but revenue is real. And therefore many of these indicate that now with the critical part of the remonetisation already behind us, and there being significant impact
Learned obits were written to Truth in the year that went by. The incredible came to be believed, driven by the logic of several million tweets, retweets and WhatsApp forwards. And ’post-trut
Winter mist hangs over Johra, a village of 928 people situated on the Ganga canal, 50 km east of New Delhi, in Ghaziabad. It is colder here than in Muradnagar, the nearest town, on the Delhi-Meerut
2016 was a year that kept India on the edge. The dramatic decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes was like a bolt from the blue, forcing people to stand in serpentine queues at banks a
One day last December, Shyam Kishore got into an argument with a railway clerk at Meerut City station. Kishore, who commutes daily by train between Meerut and Ghaziabad, had decided to renew his mo
The year 2017 will see India roll out the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the country’s biggest indirect tax reforms. The target date is April 1, but it could be pushed back. GST is essentially
Concerned about the abuse of power, French sociologist David Émile Durkheim in 1912 wrote that there could be no society which, at regular intervals, did not feel the need to uphold and reaf
Prediction is risky: go wrong, and you lose credibility; get it right, and your worst dreams come true. While other bold and learned haruspices of journalism inspect the entrails of 2016 to project
The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday clarified that it was still in the process of reconciling the figures of the demonetized currency, following media reports which said that most of the scrapped
Demonetisation, while immobilising black money and fighting corruption, may lead to temporary slowdown of the economy, said president Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday. “We all will
People may recall the passionate justification that prime minister gave on November 8 when he announced the decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination. The entire cou
The implementation of the demonetisation decision carried pain. “It can lead to short term criticism and inconveniences. Drop in economic activity on account of the currency squeeze during th
There are considerable uncertainties over the potential positive effects of demonetisation, said global ratings agency Fitch. “Most importantly, demonetisation is a one-off event. People th
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today linked the near lack of public resistance to the Narendra Modi government’s move to ban currency of high denomination to the “aspirational Indians&rd
The growth story of agriculture is intact as demonetisation is found to cause small and insignificant effect on growth of output as well as farmers’ income, said a blog hosted on the Niti A
The Demonetisation, the black money and the benami property, the three vibrant words in the Indian economy, has impacted the life of people across the country. In the fight against black money, pri
These days demonetisation is too much with us. It started with the PM’s address on November 8 and ended with the PM’s address on December 31, but its aftershocks are still being felt. I
The dramatic rise in India`s oil demand shows no signs of faltering, leading analysts say that the country will remain a driver of Asian growth in 2017. Consumption is expected to r
The dangal is on. The biggest political slugfest of the central government’s term is on, with elections announced in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. Al
India is in the midst of a revolution. Demonetisation has impacted every family, business and institution, providing popular support to transform society, economy, polity and governance. To get the
If fighting black money is the aim, demonetisation is the wrong weapon, says India’s largest and oldest business body. “Demonetisat
Central Board Direct Taxes has asked banks to report cash deposits aggregating to Rs 10 lakh or more in a financial year, in one or more accounts (other than a current account and time deposit) of
Manish Sisodia is the de facto chief minister. He’s in charge of all important departments including finance, planning, urban development, education. It’s rare that
Fitch Ratings expects property sales in India to fall by at least 20%-30 percent in 2017, owing to disruption caused by demonetisation and general caution on the part of buyers. Homebuilders
While none of the political parties have so far volunteered detailed information about how they coped with the demonetisation-remonetisation drive, the audit reports for the financial year 2015-16
From Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram to corporate talkshop Davos, it’s creating a buzz everywhere. If nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come, then people in more and mor
Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that post demonetisation, once
In the Jammu and Kashmir budget, you have announced a basic income for construction workers, and also mentioned the concept of universal basic income. What was your rationale behind it?
Sarath Davala has a strong opinion about public welfare. “The public welfare regime in India,” he says, “is an exercise in futility.” Some $20 billion (or about Rs 1.3 trill
Finance minister Arun Jaitley today invoked Mahatama Gandhi to justify the hardships faced by common people due to Narendra Modi Government’s decision of
The government in its union budget 2017-18 has increased Mahatma Gandhi Nati
Before one takes a call on whether or not India should go down the universal basic income (UBI) route, some myths about the UBI need to be addressed. A universal basic income is an unconditional, r
SEWA Bharat had initiated a unique pilot project on cash-for-food (that is, cash replacing PDS goods) in Delhi some time ago. However, the basic income pilot project in Madhya Pradesh goes
Demonetisation is likely to push back the recovery in Indian banks` asset quality, given the disruptive impact that cash shortages have had on the country`s large informal economy, said Fitch Ratin
President Pranab Mukherjee addressed parliament on February 23, 2016. In his address, he outlined the major policy priorities of the government across different sectors. PRS legislative research ha
Flush with funds after demonetisation, State Bank of India has trimmed its lending rate to revive credit demand. In an interview with Geetanjali Minhas, Rajnish Kumar, managing director (nation
From Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram to corporate talkshop Davos, it’s creating a buzz everywhere. If nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come, then people in more and m
The demonetisation of currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination that the government announced on November 8, 2016 and the subsequent remonetisation of the economy has affected almost every
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday defended the decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, saying demonetisation took place at the right time to rid the Indian economy of black mo
The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), in one of the world’s largest surveys of employment trends, found the number of women employed falling from 126.49 million (29.4 perc
If the finance ministry and the RBI are serious about promoting the shift to digitalisation, they’re going to need to increase the incentives and reduce the costs to average citizens, every
Post-demonetisation, cash did the Houdini vanishing trick at ATMs. With currency notes playing hide and seek, life was sheer misery. Things improved a bit, but the situation is back to square one.
9.44 The irresistible force of even as powerful an idea as UBI will run into the immovable object of a resistant, pesky reality. So, what is the way forward, always remembering t
Post demonetisation, what are the challenges faced by banks? Post demonetisation, the major challenges are retention of CASA [current account, savings account] dep
While presenting the budget, the finance minister made an announcement about making donations to political parties more transparent. If the proposals to amend the relevant laws are approved by parl
The Indian economy has recorded strong growth in recent years, helped by a large terms of trade gain, positive policy actions including implementation of key structural reforms, a return to normal
On October 1 last year, Mehtab Alam Ansari, 30, who worked as a tailor in Delhi, had arrived in his village, Chepa Khurd in Barkagaon tehsil of Harazibagh district, to celebrate Eid with hi
The growth in GDP during 2016-17 is estimated at 7.1 per cent as compared to the growth rate of 7.9 per cent in 2015-16, authorities said. The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministr
What is the thinking behind launching the Swaraj party? To answer that question, we have to go back in time and see why we formed the Aam Aadmi Party [AAP].
“As regards death of currency, it is not a new subject. It has been predicted right from early 1950s,” said R Gandhi, deputy governor Reser
Whether it is for learning, banking, communicating, accessing government services, investing in the stock market or starting a social media campaign, access to the internet has gone beyon
It’s been four months since demonetization took place, yet requests to change the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes are still coming at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Prime minister Narendra Modi`s popularity has been validated throughout the election, in which he made himself and his actions the main issue in many public speeches. The ability of Modi to deliver
The biggest ever universal basic income exercise is taking place in Kenya, and if it works, it may be replicated in other parts of the world. India too is looking closely at UBI, with pilot project
Demonetisation was purportedly ordered to fight black money, render counterfeit currency unusable, and choke terror-funding. How much of that did demonetisation really accomplish, while
The government has told the supreme court that the Lokpal cannot be appointed because the 2013 law needs several amendments, which will be taken up only in the monsoon session. The N
Here is a proposition: Narendra Modi is the top thinker, the top intellectual of our times. Is that an exaggerated claim? Not altogether. Here’s why. After Brexit and aft
Joseph A Cannataci is the UN’s first and current special rapporteur for the right to privacy appointed by the Human Rights Council (HRC) in July 2015. His appointment came with growing glob
The well-turned-out officials had reached the sachivalaya in Gandhinagar on time, believing it would be another routine meeting with the chief minister. As soon as they had settled in, the
With the Indian IT and other industries facing daunting challenges from protectionism in the US and Artificial Intelligence (AI), an ASSOCHAM-PwC study has made out a case for government –ind
Trying to make the most of the demonetisation drive, the government has taken yet another follow-up step and launched an Operation Clean Portal. Its aim is to “enable citizen engagement for c
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
The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.25 percent and the Monetary Policy Committee noted that incoming data
At a time when the government is claiming that the dip in the GDP is due to global economic slowdown and not because of demonetisation, the recovery in the global growth is in fact strengthen
Here are 10 things that Kenneth Rogoff, Thomas D Cabot professor of public policy, department of economics, Harvard University, and author of `The Curse of Cash`, said about demonetisation at
The scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency had a positive impact in the fight against terror in the country; the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Since ill
As much as Rs 15.28 lakh crore out of Rs 15.44 lakh crore of the scrapped currency has come back, the Reserve Bank of India said on Wednesday. RBI released its annual report 2017 whic
The tax base did expand after demonetisation, said the Economic Survey 2016-17 volume 2, which added: “It is, however, interesting that the average income reported of the new taxpayers-Rs.
For the first time in our history, India has the opportunity to wipe out poverty. If India is able to lift another 350 million people out of poverty by 2030, it would be an achievement that t
Disruptions from demonetisation and events surrounding the implementation of GST led to a setback in economic activity and a potentially larger negative effect on the poor and vulnerable, said a Wo
There is clear evidence now that slowdown effect of demonetisation and GST has now more or less played it out, said finance minister Arun Jaitley Participating in an interactive semi
The November 8, 2016 announcement to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes did have a huge impact on the GDP, but it also left economists scratching their heads as they looked at numbers which w
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, a respected economist, had described demonetisation as a monumental management failure and prophesied that the rate of growth of national income, that is, the
People using their debit or credit card to make payments at shops has become a common sight after demonetisation took place on November 8, 2016. At some places like the army CSD cant
There has been a significant increase in the number of income tax payers following demonetisation that took place on November 8, 2016. The number of e-filed personal income tax returns (I
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday batted for demonetisation, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called it a tragedy as November 8 marked a year since the note ban took place. &ldq
One year has passed since the Modi regime applied shock therapy to improve the functioning of the Indian economy through demonetisation on November 8, 2016. Thus, legal tender to rupee notes worth
The government has repeatedly said that note ban has had a huge impact on terrorism. But, ground reports seem to indicate otherwise. To effectively battle terrorism in Kashmir as wel
Prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that he may have to pay a political price for the reforms that are aimed at ending corruption, but he was ready for it. Modi said that
A fundamental shift is under way in payment habits of the Indian economy, said a RBI document that looked at the impact of demonetisation. RBI’s interventions on promoting elec
The ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report of the World Bank could not have come at a better time for the NDA government. The first anniversary of demonetisation, where everything from plannin
“Demonetisation has created an entire system of digitisation and financial inclusion,” said PK Gupta, managing director (Retail and Digital Banking), State Bank of India, at the launch
That there is a debate about the state of the economy today is neither surprising nor undesirable. Varying motivations may drive those questioning the government’s record on the economic fron
