Its been more than a month since the demonetisation of high value currency was implemented with the objective of tackling the menace of black money, counterfeit notes and corruption. But for a common man like me there is no respite.
Yesterday me and my wife went to nearby Indian Bank where she has an account and stood in the queue, as we wanted to draw around Rs 20000/ and when our turn came we were told to take only Rs 4000 that too 2 notes of Rs 2000 and the ICICI ATM which I only got it installed doesn't have any cash for more than two weeks. This is the position after one month. A very sad state of affairs. For the common man there is no respite from crippling cash crunch. The intentions, no doubt praise worthy but the way in which it is implemented is attracting lot criticism.
The government seems to have failed to note a midst all its great planning that the demonetisation has hit the rural population more than the urban dwellers. Where are the banks and ATMs in rural areas? It is fine for the PM ,FM, RBI Governors to talk about electronic transactions, net banking, and digital payments etc. Where is 3G connectivity? How many shops are equipped with POS machines? Is there adequate connectivity in our villages? Without taking all these factors into consideration the government went ahead and if any one points it out he will be branded otherwise. Having run out of excuses to explain the reasons for the currency shortage the government is trying to push people into using digital payments. A predominantly cash based economy like India can not abruptly shift the gears and transform itself into a cashless economy. Before promoting digital payments the centre should have put in place the techno-infrastructure.
We have been repeatedly told by the PM, FM and others that this will help in curbing corruption but I really fail to understand how they have reached to this conclusion. The bribe seekers will receive new notes in place of old ones. If people have any problem because of the paucity of Rs 500 notes the corrupt would gracefully receive new Rs 2000 notes. Our corrupt public servants have the ability to adapt themselves to the change, Management of Change" is their second nature.
The government seems to have failed to note a midst all its great planning that the demonetisation has hit the rural population more than the urban dwellers. Where are the banks and ATMs in rural areas? It is fine for the PM ,FM, RBI Governors to talk about electronic transactions, net banking, and digital payments etc. Where is 3G connectivity? How many shops are equipped with POS machines? Is there adequate connectivity in our villages? Without taking all these factors into consideration the government went ahead and if any one points it out he will be branded otherwise. Having run out of excuses to explain the reasons for the currency shortage the government is trying to push people into using digital payments. A predominantly cash based economy like India can not abruptly shift the gears and transform itself into a cashless economy. Before promoting digital payments the centre should have put in place the techno-infrastructure.
If the circulation of counterfeit notes is said to be rampant it speaks poorly of the vigilance agencies. If the new notes reach anti-social or terrorist groups, say after an year or so, will the government again roll out demonetisation? When much of India is outside the internet age, why talk of cashless mode now is the moot point?
The question lingering in the minds of people is why Govt of India is frequently coming out with new reason for demonetisation? I read recently that the shift has been quantified. Initially people supported the move assuming that it was an honest attempt to wipe out black money and the counterfeit currency. Soon it was said that the measure was to root out terror funding-still people believed it, later another new reason cropped up saying it was to persuade people for cashless transactions. Now people noticing that things are going awry.
On the one hand as many as about 100 people died in queues at the banks and ATMs and on the other side bid fat weddings kept taking place, (Gali, Bhandaru Dattatraya, Gadkari). We have been seeing everyday that several crores of rupees of Rs.2000 notes are being caught in most of the states indicating a pan India conspiracy and utter lack of control on cash disbursement. Infact it is no money for law abiding citizens but plenty for manipulators.
The remarkable step planned to cut the parallel economy to size but the basic assumption where parallel economy and black money were seen synonymous is where the problem started. Every citizen who had saved cash at home suddenly became a potential black money holder.
People like me who were all for fighting black money in first few days of the announcement, were dismayed with the implementation and started loosing hope when faced with practical problems.The common man a daily wager, a patient or a senior citizen is being hassled for his or her own cash,which could have been avoided with better planning and implementation.
After carefully reading few good articles of Mr PK Prusty, ,Manmohan Singh etc,I have understood that the cash economy is country's biggest strength. For instance over 80% of the wholesale and farm trade is done in cash. It also has the least default, there is no chasing for realisation and it ensures smooth trading. Furthermore all cash transactions are not black. And a failure in payment has limited impact. On the contrary a failure of bank transaction can have wider economic and social impact.
