ERA OF POST DEMONETISATION

There has been some amount of success in the demon-isation of the demonetisation move by the Modi Government, especially after the end of 50 days. The continuous tirade by the Media and the Opposition parties din did succeed in sowing an element of doubt in the minds of people. The debate continues whether it is beneficial or has achieved the desired objective. There were divergent views by several economists including the Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen who is on his didi's side. Economics, like psychology is a subject where the outcome cannot be predicted. Economy depends on the markets which ,in turn, depends on peoples. thoughts and behavior. Opinions sway the people and short term success of any move depends on that. 

We all have witnessed many circumstances when good intentions have turned sour. In this case, the intention was made clear from the beginning. An exervise of this scale would have caused havoc  if not planned properly. Some deviations are only natural fallouts particularly in a diverse country like ours which have been addressed through periodic notifications. But people were expecting some immediate sops as a reward at the end of 50 days and when that did not come through as expected, they probably got disappointed. 

Has it helped in the fight against the corrupt, black-marketeers, hoarders and terrorists?. Apart from all the Government initiatives in this direction, it mostly dependis on the people. I am sure majority of people want a clean society though they may not express it emphatically. So the fight has to continue. If the money generated can be put to good use, such as to eradicate poverty and illiteracy and used for education and strengthening justice to the citizens it would serve the purpose. Black economy is like living in a dark room. The honest people will never get anything good and dirt will always be hidden.

Then the question arises, 'Has it done any harm?.'. There have been some cases reported that some people have found hardships, particularly in rural areas, who could not transact through digital means. and growth rate as also the GDP have slowed down. These are at best temporary phenomenon, nothing that cannot be retrived. There have been  news of some deaths. Life is precious and it must be investigated if those have any bearing on demonetisation.