One of the reasons given by the government in defence of demonetisation was curbing black money. Within 45 days of the ban, income tax raids across the country have unearthed black/unaccounted money, in old as well as new notes. Bureaucrats, traders and barons have been caught with a huge cache of banknotes, gold and jewellery. Thus demonetisation has failed in its avowed objective while hurting the common man due to the acute shortage of cash. Very few ATMs are in operation; those which work dispense only Rs.2,000 notes — only one in a day per card. With inadequate preparations after the note ban and with numerous flip-flops on various issues concerning old currency, the credibility of the government and the Reserve Bank of India has taken a beating (Editorial – “A little gain after more pain”, Dec.23).
D.B.N. Murthy,
Bengaluru
One myth the demonetisation saga has busted is about the Prime Minister being a fabled organiser and implementer. The government’s judgment on policy is now open to question. It is clear that the RBI is the government’s handmaiden and has been forced to face all the flak that the government’s decisions and actions have caused. What stand exposed are the frivolous pledges of Rs.15 lakh per family from black money retrieved from abroad and “less government, more governance”. Even during the Emergency, the common man’s life was not controlled as much as it is today.
M. Balakrishnan,
Bengaluru
Long used to operating in a top-down instruction mode, the RBI now finds itself completely out of its depth. This explains why there have been nearly 60 circulars since November 8 on how to handle the demonetisation process. The central bank abdicated its role and let the Finance Ministry occupy the driving seat.
The other thing is that in India there has been a long tradition of imposing a regulation and then leaving a small window of opportunity open.
Srinivas Kamat,
Alto Santa Cruz, Goa
It is clear that the government is taking more pains to prove that the process adopted in demonetisation is perfect and matches the big task of unearthing black money. There must be many more such officials and political bigwigs who have such unaccounted-for wealth. It just needs the political will to unearth all this. When the government is aware of all these sources of ill-gotten wealth, why have demonetisation? Such searches could have been carried out in normal times as well. In reality, it is the common man who is being put to hardship.
A.G. Rajmohan,
Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh
Going cashless appears to be the way forward but are we ready for a cashless society? Rome was not built within a day and a cashless society won’t be realised overnight. It takes relentless, incremental and piecemeal progress to make that happen. The need for the government to push everyone to use digital payment is to make them dependent on the banking system. A “cashless society” can also be a way for the government to gain full control of your finances. Going cashless is a very bold move, but has a lot of risks and the government should address them. Physical money can’t be hacked or infected by a virus. These things can happen with representative money. By bringing everyone under the umbrella of a digital economy, we are creating a monstrous system rife with more fraud and vulnerable to security breaches and disastrous glitches. In a developing country such as ours where uninterrupted power supply is a pipe dream, going cashless does not suit our conditions. The government cannot comb through every single transaction to validate and provide protection. The reconciliation system is also not well evolved enough to protect you from transactional errors. These issues have to be addressed.
Bhimashankar N. Sanga,
Bengaluru
In my opinion, one cannot fault the idea behind demonetisation. There is support for the move, seen in the uncomplaining masses queuing up before banks and ATMs even when they find their wait has been to no purpose most of the time. If the government wants to stem the rot, the ‘traitors’ — some bank staff and politicians who have taken advantage of the situation — should be punished with rigorous jail terms, confiscation of assets and removal from all positions of authority forthwith without consideration. If the government fails this time, the BJP’s standing will be severely eroded. It might be better to go slow on cashless transactions till such time as a foolproof system is evolved. There are not so many computer-literate Indians who will be able to detect fraud.
P. Balagopalan,
Palakkad
In these trying times of demonetisation, unscrupulous elements in the banking system have emerged as the main culprits in ruining what could have been a smooth transition to a cashless economy into a rocky ride. Hoarders of black money in collusion with these elements have successfully converted black money into white, while it has been a struggle for the ordinary citizen to draw even a few hundreds of his hard-earned money for his basic needs. This brazen betrayal on the part of a few rotten apples is fast eroding the faith most of us have in our banking system. This episode is a black mark.
A. Bhavana Praveen,
Somwarpet, Kodagu, Karnataka
Will demonetisation, that started with a bang, end in a whimper soon? Otherwise, why does one have changed guidelines every second day? The mantra being chanted is one of a cashless economy and a digital India, where cash is dirt and cashless clean. But cash is financial autonomy, a bird in the hand. Even developed countries such as Germany and the U.S. still have transactions in cash. With poor literacy, connectivity and networking in villages, and an inadequate density of banking in villages, is it feasible to fully embrace going cashless? The country has the world’s largest population of illiterate adults at 287 million, amounting to 37 per cent of the global total (UN report, 2014), who cannot be wished away.
Thomas Kaye,
Kochi
