[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Two things struck me as hilarious messaging:
1. Spend to help the economy get back on the growth track
2. Don't use cash so that it is available to the less privileged.

One good thing for me from demonetisation is that I've implemented demediasation, no news channels, no verbose radio repeating the same trite adverts on apps for digital-money and digital-payments, its hackneyed to say the least.

Thanks for the morning laugh, they did EXACTLY what I thought they'd do after the cash started coming into the system. Spend? But I thought we the spenders are the true criminals of society, as a press release just 2 weeks ago said that the government is looking strongly into car buying, luxury shopping and would do everything possible to discourage futile spending as it'd in turn discourage generation of black money. Please don't spend, please don't.. keep the "digital money" with yourselves.

Don't use cash so that it's available to the "less privileged"? Did I get it right? Less privileged? I'm certainly far, far, less privileged than all the major software company bosses and industrialists in India, industrialists starting with names T and A in particular, please don't spend cash so that it'll be available for me. Short of that I expect a correct definition of less-privileged in absolute terms (net-worth), we already gave up the gas subsidy so that undefined "less-privileged" can have theirs for free, I need a PPT presentation by the government at my home in order for me to consider any more "charitable" pro-people action.

Pro-demonetisation people, I did not mean to offend the move nor is it a case of sour grapes, I was hardly affected by it but I will point out obvious idiocies and U-turns when it comes to agenda/propaganda. Convincing me to think otherwise will result in no change as I'm a well seasoned MBA guy with very high level-grasp on the core-practicalities of economics, finance, operations and H.R. There are always two sides to any story and business / economics is no different. Did the whole country conveniently overlook the fact that lack of liquidity and lack of cash (in an economy where 90% spending happened via cash) will result in much lowered spending & much lowered tax revenue (not that the government needs it, even Mr.Subramanian Swamy said that they can get enough out of the telecommunication licensing taxes alone)? Luxury sector is a core provider of employment and taxes, kick it between the legs and the country will kneel in sheer pain.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Thanks for the morning laugh

Indeed. My first reaction to Remonetise India was: make up your mind, do you want to demonetise or remonetise?!
I have even stayed away from this thread, apart from occasional visits for entertainment and a good laugh.

[sgiitk]

@dark.knight; Many of the U-turns in the Demonetization affair were cases of reacting to the tricks. I am sure nobody vectored in the 'note mules'. I find two major problems they faced, i. need to recalibrate the ATM, due to the different size and thickness of the new cash, ii possible sabotage by the bank unions and the level of fraud by the branch managers.

As for Swamy I am surprised that you did not catch it, 'East is east and West is west, never the twain shall meet'. He is from the Keynesian school (Harvard), and our money policy is now Monetarist / Hayekian. Rajan being from IITD (I guess Keynes) and Chicago (Monetary) and now we have a hard core Monetarist (Patel is LSE + Yale). During NDA-I it was also Monetarist. Monetarist -> Germany, Maggie Thatcher, Nixon (to an extent).

[binand]

Apologies for saying this, but for someone who claims:

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I'm a well seasoned MBA guy with very high level-grasp on the core-practicalities of economics, finance, operations and H.R.

to say this:

Originally Posted by dark.knight

But I thought we the spenders are the true criminals of society, as a press release just 2 weeks ago said that the government is looking strongly into car buying, luxury shopping and would do everything possible to discourage futile spending as it'd in turn discourage generation of black money.

is a bit disingenuous.

(Btw, can you please post a link to the press release from 2 weeks ago that you talk of? Couldn't find it online).

[RSR]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I burst out laughing when I saw the recent public service ad that is being aired:
Remonetise India!

Remonetise India???

Let me search for this campaign and find out what they're really trying to say.

[greenhorn]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-...TEe5k3hXP.html

The newly launched 2,000-rupee banknotes carry the signature of present central bank chief Urjit Patel but the process to print those bills began when his predecessor Raghuram Rajan was still in office, a Hindustan Times investigation has found.

Interesting twist!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-...TEe5k3hXP.html

Interesting twist!

Could be but I cannot trust the Congress mouthpiece, the Hindustan Times. We all know which 'senior journalist' on the TV is considered by many to be a Congress mouthpiece. HT owned by the Birlas has always been a Congress paper.

[binand]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Could be but I cannot trust the Congress mouthpiece, the Hindustan Times. We all know which 'senior journalist' on the TV is considered by many to be a Congress mouthpiece. HT owned by the Birlas has always been a Congress paper.

In any case, it is a non-story. The Rs. 2000 notes were released to the public only after the 8/11 announcement, by which time Mr. Patel was most definitely the RBI governor.

HT is raking up muck to see what sticks, I guess.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@dark.knight; Many of the U-turns in the Demonetization affair were cases of reacting to the tricks. I am sure nobody vectored in the 'note mules'. I find two major problems they faced, i. need to recalibrate the ATM, due to the different size and thickness of the new cash, ii possible sabotage by the bank unions and the level of fraud by the branch managers.

Tragedy is that whoever made the decision to demonetize was not capable enough to anticipate the things that could go wrong. Proves that it takes much more than rhetoric to run the country.

[pratyush6]

A couple of very interesting things are happening around this with property taxes (Aadhar/PAN linkage). I think there are a couple of things that everyone would agree on:

1. There is a huge black money system in India (undeclared wealth essentially)
2. This is always run on cash
3. Real estate & Gold typically lead the market
4. Prices get artificially inflated as a result of this

Now to say the whole exercise was bad to begin with is ridiculous. Just because a problem is huge, should everyone just put their hands up? That is what this Govt. did and I absolutely applaud them for that.

Could the exercise have been better - Yes, ofcourse, but mostly at the cost of secrecy. Has it had the intended consequences - somewhat at best. I believe this is a process and rules would be made so that we keep going on the path.

The only thing that has been proved is that we Indians are a highly corrupt lot and even though we blame the politicians and officials, we would do the same if we had a choice.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Tragedy is that whoever made the decision to demonetize was not capable enough to anticipate the things that could go wrong. Proves that it takes much more than rhetoric to run the country.

There was no precedent to learn from. So I am happy that there were only so many, which could be managed. Argentina did a copycat one and reversed a day later.

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Proves that it takes much more than rhetoric to run the country.

A super power country in the west is also learning it the hard way.

What did we learn form the whole exercise, people are becoming more and more tolerant in giving away basic liberty under the pretext of fighting the greater evil, black money in this case.

[akhil_007]

Over the weekend, I'm seeing a new trend. Small time traders, flower sellers, auto guys and the like are refusing to accept 10 rupee coins. They say it's not valid anymore. Whereas fast food hotels and similar establishments have qualms about accepting these. Is this a self imposed demonetization ?

[binand]

Originally Posted by akhil_007

Small time traders, flower sellers, auto guys and the like are refusing to accept 10 rupee coins. They say it's not valid anymore.

Reported here: http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.co...w/57150584.cms

[drmohitg]

How come we were getting regular weekly updates and sometimes even within a couple of days about the total cash inflow that had come into the banks during the drive and ever since the figures crossed 10L Crore, the updates died down. In-fact now it is close to 2 months post 31 December and we still haven't been told exactly how much money did the banks get. Are they physically counting every note? Or are they not willing to share that info now, risking public anger since almost all the cash came back? Why the delay?