Cash Chaos in India: Modi Promises to Weed Out Corruption
By Rakesh Raman
While millions of people in India are reeling under the government’s decision to remove currency notes from the market, the government is urging people to support the demonetization decision.
The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi said today that on 8th November many people of India slept peacefully, while a few (corrupt people) are sleepless even now.
Modi was referring to the November 8 decision of his government on demonetization of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes. He said the government has taken a key step to help the honest citizens of India, in defeating the menace of corruption and black money.
Modi, who was speaking at a function in Goa today, thanked all those who have been contributing to ensuring the success of the demonetization exercise.
[ Can Government Check Corruption in Delhi Housing Societies? ]
Referring to the inconvenience being faced by the citizens in getting their old currency notes exchanged with new notes, Modi said he also feels the pain, and these anti-corruption steps were not a display of arrogance.
He recalled that in 2014, people had voted him to free the nation from corruption. He said that now he will weed out the 70-year-old corruption from the country in just 17 months. He hinted about many other steps that he will soon take to curb corruption.
[ आओ मिल कर करें एक नये और समृद्ध भारत का निर्माण ]
Modi also said that if any money has been looted in India and has left Indian shores, it is our duty to find out about it.
He said that he was not born to sit on a chair of high office, adding with an emotional tenor that whatever he had, including his family, and his home, he had left to serve the nation.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance informed Saturday that a total of over 7 crore (70 million) transactions have taken place from November 9 to November 12 for deposit, exchange of old notes and withdrawal from ATMs and over the counter.
[ RMN Poll: Who Is the Most Popular Person in India? ]
According to an official statement, old notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 denominations amounting to about Rs. 2 lakh crores have been deposited to banks.
Out of 2 lakh ATMs, about 1.2 lakh are operational. Presently only Rs.100 notes are being disbursed from the ATMs. Recalibration – which requires both software and hardware changes – of ATMs is in progress, which will be completed by end of November or early December. Other denominations will then be disbursed by ATMs, the statement added.
There is sufficient cash available with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other banks. They were advised to step up the supply of cash to the public, it was stated by the Ministry of Finance.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a government award-winning journalist and runs free school for deserving children under his NGO – RMN Foundation.
Photo courtesy: Press Information Bureau
