Another change?

The first important change one saw with the present Central Government was the demonetization. Old notes were to be changed for the new ones. This change was very swift and unannounced. The purpose as given out was to unearth black money which people were supposed to be hoarding as cash in their homes. This sudden and unannounced step created immense difficulties especially for the poor. The withdrawal of the major portion of the currency in circulation consisting of the high denomination notes created a chaos especially among the lower strata of the population. This was because of the curbs on withdrawal of currency and shortage of small denomination notes. The worst affected were the farmers and the daily wage earners. The intention as projected was to end black money in the country and stop fake currency as well as prevent use of currency for terror acts. However, according to information 97% of these high denomination notes were deposited back in the banks. So where was the black money? There were also instances of the new notes being made by forgers. The cash crunch created havoc and reportedly over a hundred people died while standing in queues before ATMs to get their own money! As regards overall economy, it also received a jolt. The rupee had a substantial fall in the international market. In fact, it has touched an all-time low against the dollar! Now there have been reports in the social media that the government is thinking of issuing high denomination coins of Rs. 1000 and Rs. 2000. Some pictures of these coins have also gone viral. However, in response to an RTI application, the Indian Government Mint disclosed that it has neither minted nor issued any currency coins above Rs. 10 denomination. In fact, the leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said: “Every day we read about a coin of 1,000, 100 and 200. What is the actual status? Are we to go by what media is writing? The House is to be enlightened by the Finance Minister. What is the truth? Are we going to have coin of Rs 1,000. To carry coins, we have to purchase a bag? We must know.” Keeping in view, the results of the earlier currency change; it will not be advisable to go ahead as the step may create more problems for the common masses.