Notebandhi is nasbandi of fastest growing economy in world, will not produce any long-term benefits

By Kiran Pandit*
If the objective of the government was to fight corruption then very clearly notebandhi (demonetization) will not hurt corruption. How do pink coloured notes prevent babus and politicians from not accepting bribes?
Black money that is in our system is not corruption. Demonetization may reduce black money, there maybe more money coming into the banks and people will resort to cashless transactions. That's fine. But how does this make the corrupt honest?
Basically demonetization is barking up the wrong tree.
It has helped only:

Removal of fake currency ( microscopic amount)
Put the political parties in a fix before major elections.

Already, its business as usual who are with the income tax officers (ITOs). Almost all chartered accountants (CAs) of Delhi have sorted out their clients black cash and are neat and clean to file the returns.
It’s business as usual in Land and Development Office (L&DO), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and municipalities. Although property market is in miserable state, the bureaucracy is up to the same mischief. In small towns domicile certificates are still being given after a bribe (now in new currency). Without the bribe the babu will use his discretionary powers to delay giving it up to the last date for admission to tertiary institutes/colleges in the district headquarters.
The satta bazaar is as good as it was before 8th November.
The bootlegging is as usual. Liquor licences are sold to the highest bribe giver.
Police thanas are auctioned. The highest bidder is made the Thanedar/SHO.
Management of currency flow has been very badly handled. Lack of planning and poor implementation is clearly visible in the urban areas. What is happening in rural areas where there are hardly any bank branches? No one in the media cares to find out.
The repercussions of demonetization will be clearly seen in:

No interest in investing in India by outsiders. NRIs are all waiting and watching. Foreign corporates are also backing off. 'Make in India' worst hit.
Fall in foreign tourism. Hotels and tour operators are suffering as domestic tourism is badly hit. Atithi tum bhago! Indians loaded with black money used their money to make a foreign jaunt. Out bound tourism boomed. New Zealand is flooded with Indian tourists!
Foreign exchange dealers stopped trading in Indian rupee.
There is a very big rise in unemployment in unorganized sectors. Building and construction workers are the worst hit. Contract labour on daily wages is totally smashed. Government may claim success by talking of fall in property prices but the reality is that there are no buyers. The objective of generating 10 million jobs for 10 years is badly hit. In fact there will be at least a loss of 1 million/year jobs alone in housing sector for another year or two.
All these raids by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (IT) are creating fears and drop in business confidence. What is being unearthed is just the tip of the iceberg and is serving only as propaganda. Indian business houses are dormant. No big ventures are being planned.
Demonetization followed by raids has further empowered the bureaucracy and public sector bank management to make money.
There are no major incentives to those who pay taxes properly. No tax benefits have been given to salaried classes. No benefit has been given to employers who properly employ workers with proper wage structure, provident fund deductions and ESI insurance provisions.

Was going towards cashless economy the main aim? What’s the point in bragging about sabjiwalas managing without cash? Cashless economy doesn't mean corruption free governance.
Demonetization hasn't been very successful anywhere in the world in the past. Demonetization in itself can't produce the desired results. It has to be a part of a complete package of well thought out and well timed economic and fiscal steps.
To me it’s a drive. Drives do not produce long term benefits. Just like Indira Gandhi's nasbandhi (sterilization) didn't make any impact on the population growth, this notebandhi is a nasbandi of the fastest growing economy in the world.
---
*Director (company) at Pandit Properties Investment Ltd. Lives in Auckland, New Zealand. For source click HERE

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Search This Blog