Demonetisation: Will it lead to a corruption free India?

[GANESH65]

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J-K: Rs 2,000 notes recovered from terrorists killed in Bandipora

Over 290 incidents of firing and shelling along the LoC and the IB by Pakistani troops have been witnessed since Indian army conducted surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29.
By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi | Updated: November 22, 2016 12:52 pm

Jammu and Kashmir: Newly introduced Rs 2,000 notes along with ammuniton were recovered from two terrorists gunned down in Bandipora on Tuesday. (Source: ANI)The Army on Tuesday recovered Rs 2,000 notes, which have been in circulation for less than a fortnight, from two terrorists killed in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, news agency ANI reported. Security forces had cordoned off the area early morning after the terrorists who were holed up there opened fire. A heavy gunbattle ensued soon after. A combing operation was underway to flush out for more terrorists, if any, the agency further reported.rorists Killed In Bandipora, Combing Unde

On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while announcing the move to scrap old high currency tender, said counterfeit notes are being used to fund terrorist activities in the country. The recovery of the new notes from the terrorists will provide ammunition to the opposition which has been in a combative mood inside the Parliament.

New Rs 2000 notes recovered from terrorists gunned down by Army in Bandipora(J&K) today. pic.twitter.com/l9y1xqyoem

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Arms & ammunition recovered by Army from terrorists gunned down in Bandipora (J&K) today pic.twitter.com/i1X9izIfhq
12:37 PM - 22 Nov 2016 · New Delhi, India


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Meanwhile, a Pakistani intruder was killed in firing by Border Security Forces (BSF) along the International Border in RS Pura sector of Jammu district. According to reports, the intruder was challenged by troops and was shot when he did not pay heed. On Monday, a BSF head constable was killed and five others were injured when Pakistani troops resorted to heavy mortar shelling on forward Indian positions and civilian areas at separate places along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Over 290 incidents of firing and shelling along the LoC and the International Border by Pakistani troops have been witnessed since Indian army conducted surgical strikes on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29.


http://indianexpress.com/article/in...f-pakistan-intruder-surgical-strikes-4389037/

 

[sowmyasubbaraman]

Currency notes always lead to corruption even if it is Rs. 2000, Rs. 1000 or Rs. 500. Only for a time being black money will not be available and again it will rear its ugly head in other forms if not immediately but in the near future.The only way is the Electronic way of dealing.That is not at all possible in India.Only time again innocents only will suffer.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

Narayana Murthy comes out in support of demonetisation, move can reduce black money

It has several important objectives. First is to reduce funding for terrorists which no Indian can argue about, said Murthy.

In his first reaction to the government’s demonetisation move, Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy called it a well-intentioned move and said that it has the potential to reduce black money.

Murthy was speaking in an interview with CNN News 18.

It has several important objectives. First is to reduce funding for terrorists which no Indian can argue about, said Murthy.
The second thing is this has the potential to reduce black money. It creates a little bit of confusion in the minds of those who deal in black money.

He added that in some way, in a very minor way, it is an encouragement to the digital economy.

Read more at: http://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...onetisation-move-can-reduce-black-money-53251

 

[prasad1]

Anil Bokil, founder of Arthakranti and part of the team that suggested the demonetisation move to curb black money, has slammed the implementation of the policy, reported the Mumbai Mirror. Talking to the newspaper, Bokil said the government used his advice selectively. He also told the news outlet that he will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The PMO, however, did not confirm the meeting.
He claimed the proposal that he presented to the Prime Minister in a July meeting had a comprehensive plan on how to announce and implement the scheme. The government, he claims, picked up on only two out of the five points he had presented, as a result of which the policy now can neither be rejected nor accepted happily.
He claimed the “roadmap” his organisation gave to the government would have ensured that no chaos ensued. His proposal included the abolition of indirect or direct state and central taxes, introduction of the Bank Transaction Tax, no tax on cash withdrawals, legal limit on transactions and demonetisation of higher currency.

He said the organisation had been working on the proposal for the past 16 years, since the organisation was founded in 2000. His 16-member committee, he said, would have ensured that no one got hurt in the process of demonetisation.
Demonetisation was among the ideas Bokil presented to Narendra Modi, then prime minister designate, before the elections in 2014, in a “meeting [that] went for two hours”.

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...ation-slams-implementation-of-policy-4389131/

 

[prasad1]

PM Modi’s war on black money and the demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes has shaken the nation. While the country seems split between deciding whether it’s a good or bad move, some entrepreneurial individuals are using this as a clever business opportunity. With many people forced to stand in line to either exchange their notes or deposit them a Delhi-based start-up called Book My Chotu is using it as an opportunity to provide some gainful employment and make some money as well.
The Delhi-based start-up which describes itself as ‘first on-demand helper booking website’. A Facebook post from the company claimed: “Are you short of cash? Need a Helper to stand in Queue of the bank / atm till the time your turn comes?? www.bookmychotu.com First on demand helper booking service Hire Hourly Helpers @INR 90 per hr Available in DELHI NCR

****Please note our boys will not go inside bank , they will just stand in the queue for our customers as we understand that there can be some emergency and our helpers can help you in the same by saving your valuable time . Also chotu is just a name , all our helpers are above 18yrs of age.

Quite cleverly, the company is making sure they are on the right side of the law by not using their employees to go inside the bank and actually exchange the money. CEO and founder Satjeet Singh Bedi told Hindustan Times: “It started when my mother was ill and I needed immediately needed cash. I requested my teammates to stand in the queue in place of me and quickly replaced them when my turn came.”

When asked if other people standing in the queues objected, Bedi said that it was already a common practice amongst family members and insisted that ‘chotus’ be treated with respect.

Legalize the corruption??????
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/repor...0hour-to-stand-in-an-atm-line-for-you-2275907

 

[vgane]

Payment in kind saved the day...We require such creative ideas to tide over the situation...Fortunately no one has died of hunger for non availability of cash!!

When payment in kind saved the day

K Manikandan CHENNAI: November 22, 2016 07:46 IST

While there has not been any mass absenteeism, a few workers have gone home. | Photo Credit: B_JOTHI RAMALINGAM;B_JOTHI RAMALINGAM -



Many construction workers stay on at work because they get supplies in lieu of wages
It is past 6 p.m. and P. Parshuram has wound up his work for the day. A worker at the site of an mid-size apartment complex near Clive Battery, he discusses with his colleagues the impact of the demonetisation on workers like them.
“We talk only about this and live in the hope that notes of all denominations will be available at the earliest. We cannot even take a break and return home for a few days,” says Mr. Parshuram, who hails from West Bengal. In his mid 40’s, he has to support his family that includes his mother, his wife and their two children. “We are not getting our full wages. We are able to manage here, but my family is not in a comfortable situation at the moment,” he says, but adds that the site supervisor has arranged for over a week’s provisions for more than a dozen workers employed in the site.
“The non-availability of cash is hurting workers. It is hurting individuals who are constructing independent homes the most. In large projects, builders can mobilise resources but individuals neither have the cash or the support system to do that. Many workers are returning to their native places, promising to come back after a month,” said a promoter of budget home projects.

Contractors and supervisors who do not have multiple accounts can withdraw only limited amounts of cash and they give only half the workers’ wages, spending the rest on buying rice and vegetables for them. “Most workers who hail from outside Tamil Nadu do not have bank accounts and there is no point in giving them Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes,” says N. Chidambaresh, president of the Chennai Civil Engineers Association.
Wages for construction workers from Tamil Nadu vary between Rs. 500 per day for a helper and Rs. 700 for a mason, while it is between Rs. 400 and Rs. 650 for workers from other States. “We are unable to pay the full wages, but we have assured them that they will be taken care of until the situation stabilises,” he adds.
Builders of bigger projects – special buildings (apartments less than four floors) and multi-storey buildings (over four floors) — say that supervisors are having a tough time distributing wages to the workers. The companies claim they do not have sufficient cash to disburse the entire week’s wages to all of them. Many workers who have managed to save cash have taken a holiday to go to their native villages, but this has not resulted in mass absenteeism and hence construction work has not been affected. The workers would come back the moment the situation eases, they say.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/When-payment-in-kind-saved-the-day/article16674614.ece

 

[auh]

And they don't seem to be serious about the goal but are ranting about the path through out with few patting on their back untiringly.

Can you try to address the issues I have raised in my post #156?

Instead of being judgemental of members here, why cannot you debate with your reasoning?

 

[auh]

...
The haves have no idea how the have-nots live.

Very true.

With this one sweeping move of demonetisation, many people in India think that we have entered a golden era. Sadly, that is far from reality. I am trying to discuss on the huge challenges and ground work that was required prior to such a move and unfortunately there are no serious takers in this forum.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

Some of the decisions taken by the Government to ease the situation.

1. Government extends parking fee waiver at airports till November 28

2. Reserve Bank of India issues advisory to banks, asks to ensure adequate cash supply to DCCBs & Regional Rural Banks for disbursement of crop loans to farmers

3. Rs 2000 can now be withdrawn from Big Bazaar using debit card starting from this Thursday.

4. 82,500 ATMs recalibrated to dispense new currency notes: Officials


Additional facility extended

[h=1]Big Bazaar has tied up with State Bank of India and enabled mini ATMs across all 260 stores to help consumers withdraw cash upto Rs.2000/=[/h]

 

[V.Balasubramani]

Demonetisation very positive for India in long term: Khoon Goh, ANZ

In a chat with ET Now, Khoon Goh, ANZ, says demonetisation shows Modi Government is still very serious about undertaking major reforms. Edited excerpts

Yes over the long term that is actually very positive for India and it shows that the Modi Government is still very serious about undertaking major reforms. Obviously, the GST passage was a big reform win and he has shown that he is willing to carry out with this demonetisation move in order to eliminate the black money. Obviously, near term it is causing a lot of inconvenience and that is likely to be a short-term hit to growth as purchases particularly the high end will be impacted. But once we get beyond these teething issues, it is actually going to be huge positive. Obviously, liquidity in the banking sector will be greatly improved with the money flowing in there and it is going to board well for India in the future.


Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[prasad1]

The problem is that people are being classified as PRO-MODI and Anti-Modi, instead of discussing the pro and cons of the implementation and goal of the policy.

The PRO-MODI clan believes he can walk on water and chew gum at the same time. But he has clay feet.
The policies are basically very lofty but the implementations are total duds. The Pro-modi clan can not see (or accept) that. They immediately attack the poster who has opposite views or differing experiences.
There are no ANTI-Modi group, or Anti-India group in this forum at present.
I am against hero worship in all forms. I say it as I see it. But some modi apologist have taken it upon themselves to call other members derogatory names to demean them. That is sad.

 

[prasad1]

The first 10 days of demonetisation have seen the tragic death of 47 citizens, never-ending lines and a web of problems and difficulties. The Modi government has proceeded to declare victory even as crores of innocent people suffer. As economists measure the long-term economic impact of the decision, everyone agrees that India’s wheel of development is grinding to a halt in the interim.

It is now accepted wisdom that the demonetised notes account for 86 per cent of the currency in circulation. Eminent Indian economists have argued that when the amount of currency in circulation is this significant then the chances of a currency shock on account of disruption in money supply increases proportionately. India’s mints can print 300 crore notes monthly. Demonetisation has led to the withdrawal of 2,100 crore notes. At this pace, it will take seven months to restore the supply chain. Either the government was aware and accepted the impact on the public as a necessary cost or it was negligent in assessing the harm. Neither scenario is flattering to the BJP government.


It is claimed that more than Rs 4 lakh crore has been deposited in the first five days. Contrast this with amounts disbursed through exchange or withdrawals, stated to be in the vicinity of Rs 71,000 crore. This represents a reduction of purchasing power by over 82 per cent. While it stands to reason that this will lead to a severe economic contraction, there is no guarantee that it will curb black money creation in the future. The link is tenuous, at best, unless literally everyone who deposited the money was a black money hoarder.

The government has, thus, failed to make a distinction between genuinely earned currency and black money received as the result of illegal activities. This is because demonetisation fails to address the conventional stores of black money, that is, gold, jewellery, foreign exchange, property and the share market. None of this is new information. A recently published study says that the cash component of black money recovered in raids accounted for only 6 per cent of the total amount received.

Despite the global markets recovering after Trump’s election, the Indian stock market has continued to decline and the rupee has weakened by almost 3 per cent against the dollar. The benefits of the agricultural and telecom revolutions, as also economic liberalisation, took years to trickle down. And these were not disruptive schemes. The real elimination of major black money has to come from going after the money stashed in accounts abroad, preventing hawala-based remittances, plugging the rerouting of black money through nebulous and multiple jurisdictions and attacking the domestic conventional holdings. The important question to ask and answer is how the current demonetisation exercise helps in achieving any of this.

In this culture of hate and intolerance for contrarian views, it becomes hard to differentiate facts from spoon-fed propaganda. This is not a visionary scheme. It is a dereliction of duty.
http://indianexpress.com/article/op...ct-liberalisation-currency-notes-ban-4386346/

 

[vgane]

Anil Bovil is a visionary...He is supporting this demonetization...He gave PM Modi 4 ideas & his last idea of demonetization was immediately lapped by our PM...What will happen if a surgery is done without anesthesia...It will cause maximum pain..But he says that 95% people are bearing the pain

Meet Anil Bokil, the man who gave Narendra Modi the idea of demonetisation

Anil Bokil of ArthaKranti Pratisthan believes demonetisation is a surgery done without administering anaesthesia

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Abhiram Ghadyalpatil

Anil Bokil terms the demonetisation of currency notes of Rs500 and Rs1,000 denominations as ‘currency compression’. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint

Mumbai: The last time Anil Bokil watched a movie was in 1992. It was the 1959 classic Ben-Hur.
“I liked the way the film visualized the film maker’s imagination,” recalls Bokil. It is the visualization of ideas that fascinates Bokil.
These days, he is happy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set in motion one of the big ideas that ArthaKranti Pratisthan, the Pune-based think-tank he founded 12 years ago, has proposed.
“It is a surgery done without administering the patient the dose of anaesthesia,” Bokil says about demonetisation of the currency notes of Rs500 and Rs1,000. He calls it “currency compression”, not demonetisation. “We have proposed compressing the currency so much that the Rs50 note becomes the highest denomination in circulation. We are not there yet but eventually we will,” prophesies Bokil with the easy certitude of a pragmatist.
“We are not saying we go completely cashless. Some cash will have to be there, but we need to set the bar at Rs50. For a country like us where 70% of the population survives on just $2 per day, why do we need currency notes upwards of Rs100?” asks Bokil. The 55-year-old mechanical engineer has been an employee, employer, entrepreneur, economic theorist, and activist. “He has done many things in life and all of them in his own unique and fundamental way,” says Prashant Deshpande, Bokil’s colleague at ArthaKranti .
Bokil comes from Latur in Marathwada, the town that in 2015 earned the dubious distinction of getting its drinking water from an Indian Railways train. Though ArthaKranti as an organization was registered in 2004, Bokil had started working on these ideas in 1999.
It was in 1999 that Bokil, a bachelor who calls the universe his family, disassociated himself from an industrial project he had helped set up to support 100 skilled labourers of a major automobile plant in Aurangabad who had been fired during the 1994 recession.
"For a country like us where 70% of the population survives on just $2 per day, why do we need currency notes upwards of Rs100?"- Anil Bokil, ArthaKranti Pratisthan
Otherwise chatty, Bokil is reluctant to speak about himself and insists several times during the conversation that it is the people at ArthaKranti Pratishthan, and all Indians themselves, who should be credited with the beginning of this task of currency compression. “It is the campaign that we all started 16 years back and the essential human gravity of all Indians that has actually set us on the path of total economic revolution. I am nobody,” he says.
Yet, there are reasons why Bokil is a star post 8 November. He is modest when it comes to claiming credit but Bokil did not shy away from reaching out to the right powers when it mattered. In 2013, soon after Modi was declared the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) prime ministerial candidate, Bokil went to Ahmedabad with his colleagues and sought to make a small presentation to the would-be-prime minister about the ArthaKranti proposal.
The office of the then Gujarat chief minister gave Bokil 10 minutes. “By the time I was done, I realised that he had listened to me for 90 minutes. He said nothing after I had made my presentation,” Bokil recalls. There have been a few follow-up meetings with Modi since then, in 2014, 2015, and even this year when, as the prime minister, Modi met Bokil with financial services secretary Hasmukh Adhia.
Before this now-famous meeting with Modi, Bokil had submitted his “no taxation” proposal to then BJP president and now Union minister Nitin Gadkari.
“The first point of ArthaKranti proposal is a complete withdrawal of existing taxation system except the customs and import duties. The second point is tax on transactions routed through a bank, which will be the single point tax deducted at source on the credit/receiving account only. Third, cash transactions will not attract any tax. And the fourth point was withdrawal of high-denomination currency notes,” Bokil says adding that Modi has done the fourth thing first. “That’s probably his way of doing things. Nobody among us imagined that there would be a politician who would do this. But Modi has proved us wrong,” Bokil says.
Did he expect the kind of turbulence Modi’s announcement has caused? “As I told you, Modi has done the surgery without administering anaesthesia. It was always going to be painful. But believe me, 95% of those who are queuing up aren’t complaining. Eventually, they would understand why this was necessary,” he asserts.

Abhiram Ghadyalpatil

[url]http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Ik4lpJUvejB3bIDm0VWKgN/Meet-Anil-Bokil-the-man-who-gave-Narendra-Modi-the-idea-of.html
[/URL]

 

[vgane]

A nice intervention in the midst of a serious topic!

 

[tks]

It is an academic discussion to debate if the demonetization policy was well planned. Parts of it seemingly are given the number of things that were put in place without divulging the surprise element needed for strategic strike and parts of the implementation are not well planned (perhaps it is a calculated damage that is collateral). PM Modi is not up for re-election at which point it is possible to debate if it is all worth it

There is no going back at this point. If the media outlets or any group or individual 'feel' for the poor then there are many ways to help them. If direct help is not an option for a person keeping silence is a good way to avoid being unhelpful.

 

[V.Balasubramani]

It is an academic discussion to debate if the demonetization policy was well planned. Parts of it seemingly are given the number of things that were put in place without divulging the surprise element needed for strategic strike and parts of the implementation are not well planned (perhaps it is a calculated damage that is collateral). PM Modi is not up for re-election at which point it is possible to debate if it is all worth it

There is no going back at this point. If the media outlets or any group or individual 'feel' for the poor then there are many ways to help them. If direct help is not an option for a person keeping silence is a good way to avoid being unhelpful.

TKS Ji,

I agree with your post.

When, I think Morarji Desai was Prime Minister, domonetisation of currency was exercised and he was accused of carrying out Anti-Black Money exercise for political reasons. And Subsequently after this exercise the party lost in elections and the opposition regained, if I am right in some places.

38 years later now Modi is facing similar onslaught.

The litmus test: But the results of the byelections reveal that public are in favour of the ruling Government and supports its initiative against Black Money, corruption, etc BJP won three Parliamentary seats viz. M.P., Assam and Arunachala Padesh.

Even in Tamil Nadu BJP has scored well in the recent by election, i.e. secured third position which is unprecedented. (and have not rejected it totally and if any one want to comment on this, they should have fair knowledge of political influence of Dravidian Parties in Tamil Nadu all these years).

BJP Party should be thankful to the public for their continued faith and support.

All these goes to say that general public are with the ruling party so far and have realized the seriousness of Demonetisation and are readily extending their co-operation.

Similarly on the part of the Government, decisions are taken to ease the situation gradually.

And in any or in every scheme initiated by the Government either at the Center or at the State, such schemes are liable to have issues both pros and cons.

Some may argue vehemently about the ‘cons’ while others may be presenting their case on the other side of the issues with all optimism.

And one is free to raise umpteen numbers of issues on the subject of ‘Demonetization’ which is vast.

And I have fair knowledge as to where such debates leads to in this Forum and the outcome.

IMO, I feel it is not worth to deal with such posting which is nothing but a bait.

 

[GANESH65]

One important thing we need to understand here that

• This is not the first time this has happened in India, at least technically. Earlier, Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 banknotes, which were in circulation, were demonetized in January 1946, primarily to curb unaccounted money.
• The higher denomination banknotes in Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 were reintroduced in the year 1954,and these banknotes (Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000) were again demonetized in January 1978. So that makes it the last time demonetization was done in India. Almost 36 years ago.

On both previous occasions inflation was comparitively much lower and most of the high denomination notes were in possession of predominantly rich people. So the common men were less affected. With todays inflation level every one holds the high denomination currency to some extent and that is the main reason for chaos. The high denomination notes held by most of the common people are definetly not black and that's the reason for unrest among them. Situation definetly is grim but under control. Hopefully will ease up in days to come.

 

[auh]

It is an academic discussion to debate if the demonetization policy was well planned.

Well, that is what this forum is for !! It is not as if important decisions are taken by the goi by starting a thread in GD and analysing the pros and cons...

If something is not well thought out, people will voice it...

 

[auh]

Anil Bovil is a visionary...He is supporting this demonetization...He gave PM Modi 4 ideas & his last idea of demonetization was immediately lapped by our PM...What will happen if a surgery is done without anesthesia...It will cause maximum pain..But he says that 95% people are bearing the pain

Let us not get in hero worship mode. Pls see this link:

http://indianexpress.com/article/in...ation-slams-implementation-of-policy-4389131/

Anil Bokil, founder of Arthakranti and part of the team that suggested the demonetisation move to curb black money, has slammed the implementation of the policy, reported the Mumbai Mirror. Talking to the newspaper, Bokil said the government used his advice selectively. He also told the news outlet that he will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The PMO, however, did not confirm the meeting.

The above is a clear proof to the statement that Modi has jumped the gun.

“The first point of ArthaKranti proposal is a complete withdrawal of existing taxation system except the customs and import duties. The second point is tax on transactions routed through a bank, which will be the single point tax deducted at source on the credit/receiving account only. Third, cash transactions will not attract any tax. And the fourth point was withdrawal of high-denomination currency notes,” Bokil says adding that Modi has done the fourth thing first. “That’s probably his way of doing things. Nobody among us imagined that there would be a politician who would do this. But Modi has proved us wrong,” Bokil says.

So he thinks that exempting cash transactions and taxing bank transactions would go towards a cashless economy? This is actually an incentive for cash trading and avoiding through banks.

The point is that Modi has jumped a few steps ahead to create the starstruck effect. The preliminary steps have been forgotten and this step is seen as a gamechanger.

We will wait to see what happens after December.

 

[vgane]

This is the real benefit! 21 lakh tea workers are moving to the banking system

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com...set-to-join-banking-system/article9374694.ece

 

[vgane]

Using post offices to disburse cash will ease the situation especially in villages and small towns

Economic Affairs Secy: Banks instructed to ensure farmers get cash

November 23, 2016 10:53

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Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das briefing the media:

* National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has sanctioned Rs 21,000 crore limit to district central cooperative bank.

* NABARD and Reserve Bank of India have been advised to ensure adequate cash supply is available to the district central cooperative banks.

* Public banks have said that there has been a surge in demand for usage of digital financial transactions.

* 1.5 lakh post offices to supply cash in villages.

* RBI, banks, NABARD instructed to make available cash to cooperative banks to ensure farmers get credit and certain amount in cash.

* PSU and some private sector banks have agreed to waive off service charges on use of debit card till Dec 31.

* All digital transactions through feature phones will not be levied with service charges till Dec 31.

* 82,000 ATMs re-calibrated so far, only a matter of few days all the ATMs will be re-calibrated.

*All government organisations, PSUs and agencies have been advised to use digital payment for paying salaries and other expenses.


http://news.rediff.com/commentary/2...ers-get-cash/b01b267963bb313205467294d36893db

 

[rishikesan]

What comments, written above are the reflexion of their opinions. As the P.M. has said, it is a Big Challenge to Govt to root out corruption/ do away with Cash for BIG Money transactions / all payments electronically/ . & we should have faith & hope for Successs, because Modi is Honest . Govt is deeply reviewing everything / everyday & that is why we get un=expected news every day.
Let us review things once a month & offer really positive comments & wait for more time depending on the subject matter & I am sure better / serious proposal will be known, esp. for the benefit of middle class.
One should be Happy if prices of food grains come down,Values of new/ old houses come down to a level we can afford.One thing we should realise is this about Indians, esp. the Bad elements who exploit us, can ONLY be straightened if they are made to feel that SOME One is watching him, then he will become Straight & fall in line, reluctantly
There are Experts in every field. Modi would try y\torope them i & make Successful solutions.

A.Srinivasan ( Rishikesan)

 

[prasad1]

The engineer was in the middle of his evening meditation session when a colleague called and told him to turn on the television. The Prime Minister was saying most of India's cash would hold no value

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by morning.

The objective was to rid the country of illegal "black money"

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for which taxes had not been paid. Money often associated with illegal activity such as bribery. Money like the 4.8 million rupees ($70,000) stashed in a steel trunk, under a makeshift settee, in the engineer's bedroom.

"For first few minutes I could not understand," the engineer said, speaking to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of prosecution.

The engineer, employed by the public works department of Uttar Pradesh, and many of his colleagues had amassed piles of cash by taking bribes for public contracts — a practice so common it has become accepted by many as part of the price of doing business in India. They felt confused — even betrayed — by the government cracking down.

"A bribe is not a taboo in a government job," the engineer said.
The engineer said the bribes he accepts are most often already written into price estimates for projects like road construction as a so-called commission. "You do not have to ask for it," he said.

Illicit money changes hands at nearly every project stage, from the public tender to completion. Almost everyone benefits from the "commissions," from the highest ministers to the rank and file, he said.

"What I get as bribe is nothing compared to what others take," he said, noting the palatial homes near his more modest house in an up-market Lucknow neighborhood. "I have a small hatchback car while others roam around in sedans and SUVs. Don't our superiors notice this?"

On Tuesday, Modi lambasted critics of the demonetization drive by saying they want graft to continue.



"Values in public life are eroding... I see that people in public life are giving speeches in support of corruption and black money. They are brazenly out in open doing so. In any country, erosion in values is the biggest crisis," he said during a book release event in New Delhi.




Yet there are doubts about whether the demonetization drive will truly make an impact on corruption and tax evasion. India's underground economy is so big it accounts for up to a quarter of the country's gross domestic product. And many of those possessing piles of black money have come up with ways to save much of it without drawing government attention.Some have bought gold, sending gold prices soaring. Some were buying US dollars or euros. Some have used cash for down payments on new apartments, with obliging real estate firms back-dating the invoices to before the currency overhaul. Some have bought expensive first-class train tickets to be canceled later for cash, once enough new notes are printed.




The engineer, despite his initial panic, said he did manage to find a way to launder his savings. What was it? He won't say.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ash-Bribes-not-taboo/articleshow/55578767.cms

 

[GANESH65]

Demonetisation: How PM Modi uses Opposition's frustration to his advantage


Narendra Modi's reputation as a master strategist preceded his stint as Prime Minister, but since 8 November, we have been witness to his acumen in greater detail. A consummate communicator and deft tactician, Modi has worked the system in such a way so as to completely outmanouvre his political rivals and stay a couple of steps ahead of his detractors.
Considering the magnitude of the decision to demonetise, the complexities involved and the secrecy under which it was planned and executed, it would have been natural for the Prime Minister to land with an egg on face. The myriad shortcomings on the implementation side which has inconvenienced 1.25 billion citizens and the deflationary cycle that has kicked in would have sunk a lesser politician by now.

Not Modi. ​

Not only has he withstood the initial crisis (it still remains to be seen how he deals with the medium to long term aftershocks), the PM has managed to emerge unscathed and even gotten stronger by some measure. And he has been able to do it because he had an interesting strategy in place.
The surgical strikes on Pakistan and the move to demonetise should tell us by now that Modi is not a status quoist. He hates to procrastinate. But his moves are never without a hard cost-benefit analysis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP

As Firstpost has written on earlier occasions, Modi first fashioned his stunningly risky move as morality play, thereby cushioning it against public anger. But that's not all. He also made the battle intensely personal, creating a 'Me vs Corrupt' binary to completely blindside his political rivals. This requires supreme self-confidence almost bordering on cockiness. By owning the move, in one stroke, Modi took upon himself all responsibilities of failure but conversely, the rewards also became greater.
To understand why he did that and why his strategy has paid off, we need to take a look at three related but apparently disconnected events — opposition's move to stall House proceedings, launching of a questionnaire on black money in Narendra Modi app and multiple surveys on the effects of demonetisation on the common man.
The first one is the combined outrage of his political rivals. From Congress to the Left, Aam Aadmi Party to Trinamool Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party to Samajwadi Party, a united opposition has shaken off its inertia to launch a bitter attack against the Prime Minister. Politicians usually show unity under two conditions: opportunity and threat. The opposition unity on display, in this case, appears to be rooted in a threat perception that Modi's political gains from demonetisation may far outstrip his perceived setbacks from shoddy implementation.
His rivals, therefore feel an urgent need to counter the Prime Minister's strategy. But in doing so, they must also be careful not to fall in the trap of appearing on the wrong side of corruption battle. They can't be seen protesting against a drive to eradicate black money. In reality, therefore, the opposition has been squeezed into a corner where they have only three real options — one, highlight the inconvenience faced by people and demand partial or full rollback. Two, shower random attacks on the PM to bring him down from the pedestal. Three, stall Parliamentary proceedings till he gives in to their demand and addresses their questions on the floor of the House.
Modi understands this. This is where the second development comes in — inviting citizens to respond to a questionnaire on black money. Through this exercise, where any citizen may download the Narendra Modi app and proceed to answer a set of 10 questions on the efficacy of the drive against black money, the Prime Minister is seeking a sort of direct referendum of his actions instead of routing it through the machinations of representative democracy.
This dovetails beautifully with his effort to personalise the battle against corruption because rating the app is essentially rating the Prime Minister on his decision. Crucially, it takes the opposition completely out of the picture who has been left fuming at this manouvre. In the game of perception, opposition's vehement protestations 'in favour of the people' have suddenly been reduced to 'petty politicking for personal gains'. Launching of the survey also creates a personal connect between a leader and his electorate — a situation where Modi is most at ease.
Not only has he withstood the initial crisis, the PM has managed to emerge unscathed and even gotten stronger by some measure
If the PM feels he has the pulse of the nation in launching the appraisal, recent surveys seem to be bearing out his belief. In a survey conducted on 21 November by CVoter across 252 parliamentary areas for Huffington Post India and Businessworld, it appears that citizens are thoroughly backing Modi. According to the findings, nearly 87 percent of respondents felt the move was hurting those with black money, and 85 percent felt the inconvenience was worth the effort of fighting black money. The sample size included 1,212 respondents across urban, semi-urban and rural areas.
In another survey conducted 11 days into demonetisation by citizen engagement platform LocalCircles involving 9,000 people across 200 cities, a whopping 97 percent participants were found supporting the PM's move while implementation, which has come under much fire, also received the backing of 51 percent respondents.
It is this that forms the backbone of Modi's self-confidence. He has also appeared in four rallies since announcing the move and reckons that people are "with him". Recent bypoll results, where the BJP retained its seats and increased vote share in north east by huge margin, would further reinforce the impression.
This considerably muddies the waters for the opposition. They are seething in rage while their rhetoric has remained inversely proportional to the merit of their arguments. Their strategy, too, lacks coherence. While Congress started by cautiously backing the move, it has now called demonetisation "illegal". They say the PM is "scared of facing the opposition and taking part in a debate" and yet when Modi attended Lok Sabha on Wednesday, they created ruckus and forced an adjournment. Often their tactics has reduced to just vituperative attacks against the PM.
While Mamata Banerjee has sat on a dharna against Modi, Arvind Kejriwal has called for his resignation. Rahul Gandhi has termed demonetisation a "big scam" while Sitaram Yechury has threatened to move a contempt notice against Modi because "PM is violating the very foundation of the Constitution" by not speaking.
All of this works to Modi's advantage. Even as the attacks on PM become more and more personal, the 'Modi vs Corrupt' binary is further reinforced, creating a self-fulfilling cycle. Little wonder that the government has so far done little else besides letting the opposition implode.

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/d...ons-frustration-to-his-advantage-3120708.html

 

[prasad1]

Even as ATMs continued to see long lines on day 14 of demonetization, the government on Wednesday said all digital transactions through smartphones will not be levied with service charges till December 31.
The move comes after the government reviewed the situation post demonetization of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and decided to encourage digital payments.

Addressing the media, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said, PSU and some private sector banks have agreed to waive off service charges on use of debit card till December 31."
"The MDR charges on use of debit cards, the charges being levied by the banks and the switching charges will stand completely waived. So, there will be no charge on use of debit cards," he added.
Das also said that the service charge on online booking of train tickets has been waived off till December 31 to encourage e-ticketing.

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/repor...ebit-cards-till-december-31-says-govt-2276114



If cashless society is the goal, but you charge for using debit card, a poor person with Rs 1000.00 is going to get less than that. That is a disincentive to use e-service. In USA the consumer is not charged for using credit card, and he gets to use money free till the billing date (usually a month).