13 times Modi sarkar tried getting back on track the demonetisation train wreck
After more than a week of fumbling with this “masterstroke” of demonetisation, it is pretty apparent now, that the Modi government’s flawless plan was more full-of-holes than a spaghetti strainer. From widespread panic, to chronic cashlessness, to staggering queues at banks and ATMs, to a death toll that is rising by the day, this attack on black money has proved to be one of the worst executed plans this government has brought upon us.
The government is trying its best to hastily patch-up every new rip that comes up in the plan with half-measures and is without a doubt, in some cases, making the matters worse. The number of amendments the government has made since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on November 8 about demonetisation has now reached the supposed unlucky number of 13. Maybe the government ought to have pondered on the decision for another couple of weeks before unleashing it on the public. This is after all, not the beta test for a stupid app. It’s the country’s economy.
1) The initial exchange limit for Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes was capped at Rs 4,000, and the withdrawals at Rs 2,000 a day per card. Later, however, the withdrawal limit was increased to Rs 2,500 and exchange limit increased to Rs 4,500.
2) The weekly withdrawal limit was increased to Rs 24,000 from the initial Rs 20,000. The daily withdrawal limit of Rs 10000 has been removed altogether. Other than that, businesses with current accounts (that have been operational for at least 3 months prior to the announcement) are allowed to withdraw Rs 50,000.
3) In the beginning, November 11 was the last date for hospitals, railways, airlines, petrol pumps etc for being authorised to accept the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for payment. That date was, however, shifted to November 14.
4) The rising death toll in the long queues at the banks and ATMs forced the government to impose new rules about separate queues for the differently-abled and senior citizens.
5) To prevent people from exchanging too much of old currency without accountability (people were hopping banks and getting money converted, to get more money converted than the daily limit allowed them) the use of indelible ink marks, like in elections, at the cash counters was made mandatory.
 |
| It is pretty apparent now, that the Modi government’s flawless plan was more full-of-holes than a spaghetti strainer. [Photo: Indiatoday.in] |
6) There were several reports of the Jan Dhan accounts being used by other people to deposit their unaccounted cash. The government, thus, set an upper limit of Rs 50,000 for deposits into these accounts. Any amount upwards of Rs 50,000 would have to have its source verified.
7) Just post the demonetisation announcement, a lot of people started rushing to jewellery shops to purchase gold, either out of fear of obsolete currency, or for making sure unaccounted cash remain undetected. To avoid the latter, the Government has reportedly demanded the CCTV footage of the shops from the first two days and also the PAN numbers of the buyers.
8) The government announced that the money from cancellation of air tickets would not be refunded and started asking for bank details of those cancelling multiple railway tickets in order to transfer the refund amount in their account, so as to prevent those trying to make a quick buck out of booking and immediately cancelling airline tickets and receiving cash refunds.
9) On November 14, the RBI banned the district central cooperative banks (DCCB) from exchanging Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. There has been some opposition to this move though, considering that DCCBs provide a massive service to the agricultural class.
10) Only a day after the announcement of the demonetisation drive, the government said that those depositing more that Rs 2.50 lakhs of cash till December 30 could be penalised up to 200 per cent in the case of an income mismatch, under tax evasion laws.
11) Finance minister Arun Jaitley announced on November 17 that the previous reported decision of reintroducing the Rs 1,000 would not be happening.
12) There was a lot of hue and cry over families unable to organize weddings because of this cash crunch. To overcome that, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das announced on November 17 that families preparing for a wedding can withdraw up to Rs 2.50 lakh from bank account after providing PAN details and self declaration.
13) Effective from November 18, individuals can exchange the, now invalid, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee notes totalling Rs 2,000 per day instead of the initial Rs 4,500 till December 30.
Demonetisation, it seems, has more frequent updates than Adobe.