Doubts on the scheme

Is it a workable idea to bind both problems of fake currency and black money in a single plan that purportedly aims at striking at the root cause of corruption? What exactly is the difference between the two?

As there is an estimation of the circulation of 500-and 1,000-rupee notes, is the same possible as far as fake currency is concerned in India? How much of it is really coming from across the border? And is Pakistan the only country which is a haven for such nefarious activities?

Demonetisation has actually got coupled with the introduction of a new note of Rs 2,000. Why is the focus only on demonetisation in this case?

What happened with the loud claim that was made about getting all the black money stuffed in Swiss banks to India?
If the 1,000 rupee note gets chucked for a higher denominator, how exactly is it going to help in the "long term", as so many in the government want us to believe?

Citing global examples like that of the European Union (EU) and other developed countries is erroneous as they have not seen a replacement of lower denominator with a higher one.

Across the globe, the move has always been the other way round.

There have been notifications coming from the government about possible changes in the 50- and 100-rupee notes as well. Along with this, 1,000-rupee note is set to be back soon with certain modifications. Keeping all these developments in the background, what should one make of the government's fairy tale idea of Indian economy moving toward a cashless economy?

Do we really have a robust banking network spread inclusively in all parts of the country as has been claimed by our finance minister? Besides, at a time when cyber security threats are looming large in the horizon, marked most glaringly by the recent debit card fiasco among others, are we prepared to imbibe the language of technology in our lives?

How is this going to make our election expenditures more transparent? With election being enough time away from now, it is not difficult to chart a new plan to use the new currency. Besides, there are multiple ways in which money plays a role in an elections. The banal idea that gives superfluous importance to "stacks of money bags" just doesn't work. Indian election will continue to remain a costly affair.

With all the rumour-mongering and the bizarre incidents of people stocking food items for a month, hyper ventilating middle class, the poor and the women coming especially from the interior parts of the country having no clue about what is going on, are we going to ask the larger question of the state of financial literacy in India? Maybe that is too much to ask for when the basic literacy numbers are themselves highly questionable.

What makes the government feel that once the new notes are introduced and the old one's become "worthless piece of paper", people will start their business afresh; engage in white, taxpaying activities; become law abiding citizens and categorically refuse to be a part of any dubious activities? The seamless narration can be anything but the truth.

Unless there is a systematic attack on the system which keeps perpetuating a particular mindset of greed and avarice, this top dressing activity will not achieve much. For law to take its course, consumers will need to become citizens first. We live in a country where people giving bribes to a traffic policeman doesn't constitute as "corruption". For the same set of people, this is all about those big fat businessmen. Where is the incentive for self introspection?

What about the Devanagri script that has been used for the numerals of 500 and 1,000? How legally and constitutionally tenable is the move?

As one observer has put it, can it be something that may reignite the age-old debate of "Hindiasation" of politics?

What happened with the loud claim that was made about getting all the black money stuffed in Swiss banks to India? The amount of 15 lakh rupees that was supposed to go to the bank accounts of the needy and the poor? Like all other burning issues that currently grip the country at the moment, this too will be placed on the backburner.

When the black money gets pushed into Hawala transactions and come back in the form of participatory notes, only to effortlessly become a part of the stock exchange, how is it curbing black money? Gold, land, real estate are the busiest channels of money exchanging multiple hands at the moment. How should one make sense of the panicky situation surrounding us? Is it only limited to getting their notes legally exchanged or is it a rude reality check of profound guilt lying dormant within people for years that has suddenly been forced to come out.

However, for business to go on, it only remains a matter of time for old guilt to get replaced by a new one. more