[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

......Even if RBI governor comes out with any statement, these non trust worthy fellows would only twist the news......

How do you explain today's press-release 'clarification' then, if it's already presumed that everything will be twisted to fit an 'agenda' and does not merit a response?

You or I may not like it, but the current exercise is as much about perception management as it is about economics, for everyone involved.

A good chunk of the current media may have strayed from their principled position as the fourth pillar of democracy - which has led me to NOT reading a mainstream newspaper or watching a mainstream news channel since several years now - but I wouldn't want to use that as an excuse to disregard the whole profession of journalism.

If eliminating dysfunctional pillars was the solution to fix democracy, we would've collapsed as a nation by now given the state of utter disrepair of all FOUR of our pillars (Legislature, Executive, Judiciary and Media) is no secret to anyone.

Democracy, thankfully, doesn't work that way, as much as some people would like it to.

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

How do you explain today's press-release 'clarification' then, if it's already presumed that everything will be twisted to fit an 'agenda' and does not merit a response?

The press release was just an official statement in order to clarify the position after deliberate "rumour mongering" by the media. And I was reading a Malayalam news paper today, which has already twisted it; basically started saying that Reserve Bank themselves are clueless! The RBI could have made earlier statements as well, but would that make a difference? I don't think so.

A good chunk of the current media may have strayed from their principled position as the fourth pillar of democracy - which has led me to NOT reading a mainstream newspaper or watching a mainstream news channel since several years now

I am in the same boat as you sir. My kid is also happy since she gets enough and more time to watch Doreamon, Permon etc.

If eliminating dysfunctional pillars was the solution to fix democracy, we would've collapsed as a nation by now given the state of utter disrepair of all FOUR of our pillars (Legislature, Executive, Judiciary and Media) is no secret to anyone.

Elimination is not the right thing, but getting these four pillars to mend their ways is required. I feel till now, people were all bad mouthing "legislature" & "executive" (i.e politicians & bureaucrats), and they too gave enough opportunities for people to bad mouth them via inefficiency and corruption. The other pillars media & judiciary had it easy. They were all declared to be "holy cows", always just and principled.

Now I feel that perception is also changing. Nepotism in judiciary is now known to all. The way higher judicial appointments are done (they answer to none of the other three pillars) is also known. Media's neutrality is also now being judged by every one, with them now even getting a good title of #Presstitute.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

Media's neutrality is also now being judged by every one, with them now even getting a good title of #Presstitute.

Do you mind not doing this here?

[Chetan_Rao]

To be fair, media lost its fair perception and became partisan a long time ago globally, around the time channels/media houses became corporations.

There are very few unbiased sources of news left today, and a lot of the blame again goes to power brokers behind the scenes on all sides, who have a vested interest in driving the information discourse.

To steal a quote from Henry Kissinger, media has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests. They'll do whatever the faceless power brokers want them to do. TRPs are a means to achieve the end goal, not the goal in themselves.

P.S. Let's lay off the name calling, if you please. A lot of institutions can be called a bunch of derogatory expletives just because it feels justified, but that's neither civil nor fair to tar everyone by the same brush.

[sgiitk]

@Chetan_rao; I gave up on the media being objective ages ago. Not only here but the US. All media declared Clinton winning, but the reality was different. I consider the media as a harmless pastime, no more.

The RBI says that the final figures are still to be totted up. Counting of notes is still going on. So I will just say that over 90% of the currency in circulation is in, beyond this watch and wait. Of course how much of this currency has come from the laundry is anybodies guess. We have seen new animals like ATM mules, etc. Now that things are quite let us watch and wait. I expect most limits to progressively vanish. Next may be 24,000 going up to 40,000 and then going away. I was in the SBI a couple of days ago, and they were happily dispensing 500 notes at the counter. Crowds as can be expected during salary week, nothing more, nothing less.

One useful thing I found out that you can draw your entire 24,000 or whatever using the counter swipe machines.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@Chetan_rao; I gave up on the media being objective ages ago. Not only here but the US....

It's the same everywhere. With the corporatization of media and proliferation of fly-by-night channels wherever one looks, everyone can find an outlet sympathetic to their beliefs, no matter how mainstream or absurd. They're worth nothing more than nuisance value.

I try to get my news directly through aggregator agencies (Reuters, AP & AFP), but never believe anything at face value.

......I expect most limits to progressively vanish......

Not in any hurry personally, haven't been to a bank or an ATM for over a month now. Bank to deposit old notes and ATM to actually change my SBI card PIN (online option wouldn't work for some godforsaken reason).

I have been primarily cashless since long before it became the 'IN' thing

[poloman]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@Chetan_rao; I gave up on the media being objective ages ago. Not only here but the US. All media declared Clinton winning, but the reality was different. I consider the media as a harmless pastime, no more.

That was truly a bluff of monumental propositions. I still remember every mean stream media in US declaring, there is no possible path for Trump to reach 270 electoral seats. They gave Trump 206 and Hillary 270 to start with, Hillary needing just one more electoral college vote. Now what happened after that is a startling psephological upheaval. But the media in US has still not learnt their lessons and keep on harping self righteousness.

Indian media is slightly better and are not openly partial. Still they come up with totally biased and opinionated stories with zero research or home work. Many of these media outlets and an Harvard educated ex FM proclaimed that cash crunch will last till August on the basis of voodoo maths. Today I with drew wads of freshly minted 500 notes from an ATM with hardly 2 people in the queue. As PM proclaimed cash crunch is becoming to ease quickly with every passing day after 1st Jan.

[binand]

Originally Posted by poloman

Indian media is slightly better and are not openly partial. Still they come up with totally biased and opinionated stories with zero research or home work.

I actually prefer media that is openly partial - like it is in the UK, or with party mouthpieces in India, or even the Hindu way of side-taking. At least with them, you know where they stand. Once you figure out the affinity of a particular media house or a publication, you don't have to look at the motives of individuals within. Here, on the other hand, you have to assess the biases of each author (Firstpost, I'm looking at you) to figure out which way they are slanting.

[poloman]

Originally Posted by binand

I actually prefer media that is openly partial - like it is in the UK, or with party mouthpieces in India, or even the Hindu way of side-taking. At least with them, you know where they stand. Once you figure out the affinity of a particular media house or a publication, you don't have to look at the motives of individuals within. Here, on the other hand, you have to assess the biases of each author (Firstpost, I'm looking at you) to figure out which way they are slanting.

May be we are digressing from the topic. But you are talking about opinion websites. These operate in a different way from a news website or media outlet. They claim to have a set of authors or opinionators from entire spectrum of left to right. But depending on management or editor percentage of opinions will tilt to one side. As usual mostly to left.

[binand]

Originally Posted by poloman

May be we are digressing from the topic. But you are talking about opinion websites.

No no, I am talking of all kinds of media outlets - print, television, online. I just took Firstpost as an example - and it claims to be a news reporting (as well as analysis, opinion and human interest) website.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

1. You or I may not like it, but the current exercise is as much about perception management as it is about economics, for everyone involved.

2. A good chunk of the current media may have strayed from their principled position as the fourth pillar of democracy - which has led me to NOT reading a mainstream newspaper or watching a mainstream news channel since several years now - but I wouldn't want to use that as an excuse to disregard the whole profession of journalism.

If eliminating dysfunctional pillars was the solution to fix democracy, we would've collapsed as a nation by now given the state of utter disrepair of all FOUR of our pillars (Legislature, Executive, Judiciary and Media) is no secret to anyone.

3. Democracy, thankfully, doesn't work that way, as much as some people would like it to.

1. Agreed, otherwise how can one reconcile Zee and NDTV. All very good v All terrible. Reality is never black or white, but a shade or grey.

2. Dysfunctional: Were they ever functional. As has often been said India proves that there is a God above. I bet even Deep Blue (the chess computer) will give up if asked to decipher India! I do not think India is coming to an end. Unfortunately, our politicos have gone Too Shrill, and lost all balance.

3. May I recommend a book from 1943 but still very true. It is FA Hayek - Road to Serfdom. It is slim book, under 250 pages but needs to be read and thought about. I am on my second read, and may do one more.

[sachinpk]

Rs 8.78L fake currency deposited with SBT after note ban......
Now this is from a state which is "officially" against demonetisation. The bank in question is State Bank of Travancore, which most likely would get merged with State Bank of India. The local media also used to report on the unique cultural ties the bank has with Kerala, and how merging it with SBI is disastrous. I know of some Kerala intellectuals even talking about -"our heard earned money deposited into the SBT, would now be disbursed to Northie business men, who would default payments"

Originally Posted by binand

I actually prefer media that is openly partial - like it is in the UK, or with party mouthpieces in India, or even the Hindu way of side-taking. At least with them, you know where they stand.

I agree with you. I mean in that way I can appreciate Desabhimani the official mouth piece of CPI(M) in Kerala. We can very well know how they report issues. But I am more worried about other wily foxes who officially claim to be neutral, but are really taking sides. I threw "The Hindu" out of my house six months back; after 30+ years of reading it. For me subscribing to "The Hindu" was like openly donating money and telling the nearest Kashmiri militant or Maoist to go and kill soldiers and policemen. And then I said "enough is enough".

Originally Posted by poloman

They claim to have a set of authors or opinionators from entire spectrum of left to right. But depending on management or editor percentage of opinions will tilt to one side. As usual mostly to left.

Are you talking about the web sites of "Think tanks"?? In that case again we can predict what kind of "thinking" happens in each group. The trouble maker these days are a section of media which claims to be neutral, but are clearly partisan in nature ("The Hindu" for example). Some of these media have been able to hide their partisanship, but quite many have now openly exposed their partisan nature.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@Chetan_rao; I gave up on the media being objective ages ago. Not only here but the US. All media declared Clinton winning, but the reality was different. I consider the media as a harmless pastime, no more.

The RBI says that the final figures are still to be totted up. Counting of notes is still going on. So I will just say that over 90% of the currency in circulation is in, beyond this watch and wait. Of course how much of this currency has come from the laundry is anybodies guess. We have seen new animals like ATM mules, etc. Now that things are quite let us watch and wait. I expect most limits to progressively vanish. Next may be 24,000 going up to 40,000 and then going away. I was in the SBI a couple of days ago, and they were happily dispensing 500 notes at the counter. Crowds as can be expected during salary week, nothing more, nothing less.

Don't know about the situation in other parts of the country, but in non-metro Kerala where i am now, the money situation in banks is still scarce. My dad has to pay contractors for some work we are getting done at home, and cash is a pre-requisite, not by choice. He has been to the bank 4 times this week, before he could lay his hands on the 24k for the week. I've been trying to use my debit card to withdraw cash across ATMs of various banks, but the success rate is 25% or less. And before someone says go cashless, lemme tell you i go cashless wherever possible. However, ground reality is quite different in the non metro regions.

[dark.knight]

This "period", whether good or bad for India is strictly point of view, but it has provided me some entertainment watching most of the people parrot the "official" narrative and believe there are only rose petals on the streets now sans the thorns.

One such person happens to be a friend, one of those friends with whom I debate just about anything from ethics, business, politics and cinema, we agree 99% of the time but with this "economic" change we are completely on opposite poles. She sticks to the official narrative, wants to support the changes no matter the hardships and feels there is a superpower in the making.. she's one of those who was ultra-patriotic to begin with. I go to great lengths to try and rattle her views by putting forth certain facts about the origins of banking and world-finance but all it leads to is her vehemently refusing to believe in anger and me laughing about it.

There are two views to everything and I guess that will never change. However if there is one thing I've learnt, it is NOT to take the official narrative of anything at face value. As discussed above, its quite easy to find the loyalties of various press-houses while reading articles that are as contrasting as day and night, i.e if the press-houses themselves are not unitedly creating cognitive dissonance just to make it appear like the 2-party system is indeed in place.

As usual, these are my views and they stand in place firmly.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Don't know about the situation in other parts of the country, but in non-metro Kerala where i am now, the money situation in banks is still scarce. My dad has to pay contractors for some work we are getting done at home, and cash is a pre-requisite, not by choice.

Kerala is Gods own country and do not forget the communists think cash is the root of all evil. Even in Kanpur now I find 90% of the ATMs open and banks dispensing the 24,000. In fact I was in the SBI, IIT Kanpur last Wednesday, with the normal salary week queues. A colleague wanted to draw 24k and I think he got al least 10k in 500 notes. I think probably two of the ATMs in front (there are three) were operating.