Indians recall demonetisation on third anniversary

Bloomberg

#DemonetisationDisaster was among the top trends worldwide on Twitter on November 8, the third anniversary of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ban on high-value currency notes that has since been termed a “total failure” and a “draconian” act.
The outcry comes on the day Moody’s Investors Service cut India’s credit rating outlook to negative, citing a litany of problems from a worsening shadow banking crunch and a prolonged slowdown in the economy. While Modi’s government hasn’t assessed the impact of the cash ban, several economists and opposition leaders said demonetization devastated supply chains, especially in India’s vast informal economy.
Economically, demonetisation destroyed India’s small scale businesses resulting in huge job losses and a prolonged slowdown Psychologically, it eroded the faith common people have in banks and investors in stable policy making#DeMonetisationDisaster is a case study in failure Twitter recorded more than 63,700 tweets as users flooded the platform with old pictures, videos, newspaper clippings and comments.
TV channels showed visuals of members of the youth wing of the main opposition Congress party, who were arrested by police for protesting at the Reserve Bank of India in New Delhi.
On November 8, 2016, Modi’s administration had overnight invalidated 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, rendering worthless 86% of India’s currency at the time. It also issued new 2,000-rupee bills in what it said was a fight against untaxed incomes and counterfeit bills that allegedly funded terrorist activities.
Modi Govt has been fighting a war against economic defaulters & corruption & the first major step was demonetisation in 2016. Some Twitter users paraphrased the British nursery rhyme about gunpowder and treason, urging Indians to “Remember, remember, the 8th of November…”
Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, who was abruptly transferred out of the ministry, in a blog post on the eve of the anniversary said that the 2,000-rupee notes are being “hoarded” and can be demonetised without causing any disruption.