It’s unfortunate that even after demonetisation has been criticised by leading economic publications such as The Economist , The Wall Street Journal and Forbes [scheduled to be published on January 24] , such advice has fallen on deaf ears (“Won’t shy away from tough decisions: PM”, Dec.25). While the Prime Minister may choose to ignore criticism by the Opposition in India, it would be wise to pay heed to international agencies as they can be considered to be reasonably impartial. Further, as the “short-time pain” period of 50 days is almost over, there are still no signs of long-time gain dawning.
A. Jainulabdeen,
Chennai
The government has been spending several crores of rupees on advertisements promoting cashless payments. If the intent is to goad people to go in for this option, then it is an exercise in futility. It may take decades before the kind of cashless payments the government is contemplating becomes a reality. The offer of incentives such as holding lucky draws is also a burden on the exchequer. These measures are nothing but an attempt to divert attention from the abject failure that demonetisation has become.
K.R. Jayaprakash Rao,
Mysuru
While the two reasons offered by the Prime Minister for demonetisation — paving the way for a less-cash society and introducing a digital economy — may have caught the fancy of economists, the common man is not very convinced. Had this not come as an addenda but been introduced independently, it would have raised less scepticism and found more acceptability. One is still unsure whether the government has initiated any study on the increase in the use of digital modes of payment. There has to be a structured campaign.
S.V. Venkatakrishnan,
Bengaluru
The Prime Minister’s speech does reflect the extent of corruption and the need for it to be dealt with an iron hand (“Rules tweaked as govt. is sensitive to feedback: Modi”, Dec.26). However, there is still no clarity on the processes that would have to be put in place post-demonetisation given that a cashless economy would be hampered by low levels of digitisation.
Vikram Sundaramurthy,
Chennai
While the high and mighty “walk away with crores of rupees in new denominations”, the common man is struggling to get even a paltry sum of Rs.2,000. All the efforts being made to make demonetisation a success are failing. So far the common man has put up with many hardships in the fond hope that there will be an El Dorado at the end of this phase of financial turbulence. The corrupt have to be weeded out.
A. Thirugnanasambantham,
Coimbatore
Even nearly 45 days after demonetisation, things are still not rosy. Banks and ATMs are still cashless and the RBI is clueless. It is unfortunate that anyone who questions demonetisation is immediately labelled as being corrupt. Why are corporate entities not searched by enforcement agencies even when it is common knowledge that they are the fountainhead of corruption? Given that it will take a long time for the new notes to be printed, the Prime Minister can roll back his decision and reintroduce Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes printed from late 2014-early 2015. Heavens will not fall if he considers this.
H. Ghouse Baig,
Tiruchi
Is the Prime Minister immune to the misery being caused to the common man? Neither he nor any of his cabinet colleagues have chosen to meet people to understand first-hand the problems created by this move. And yet he warns of many more such operations to come. When I am not able to withdraw money from my own savings bank account, I lose faith in the banking system. The limits for withdrawal are not based on realities and the needs of individual families.
S.S. Rajagopalan,
Chennai
It is upsetting that while the poor and the middle class are being made to run from pillar to post to draw a permissible and meagre amount from their own savings, those with high connections are able to siphon off new notes in bulk. Had the government undertaken intensive searches and raids, as is being done now, unaccounted wealth would have still been exposed even without implementing demonetisation.
D. Sethuraman,
Chennai
It is a matter of deep regret that a number of letters have appeared castigating the banking system for their current financial woes. The government is cleverly deflecting attention from the real issues by shifting the focus to the banking system. The cashless economy being bandied about as an afterthought will hardly alleviate the all-round suffering.
J. Anantha Padmanabhan,
Tiruchi
