In a historical move that will add record strength in the fight against
corruption, black money, money laundering, terrorism and financing of
terrorists as well as counterfeit notes, the Government of India has
decided that the five hundred and one thousand rupee notes will no
longer be legal tender from midnight, 8th November 2016.
The Government has accepted the recommendations of the RBI to issue Two
thousand rupee notes and new notes of Five hundred rupees will also be
placed in circulation.
Notes of one hundred, fifty, twenty, ten, five, two and one rupee will
remain legal tender and will remain unaffected by the decision today.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi made these important announcements
during a televised address to the nation on the evening of Tuesday 8th
November 2016. He said that these decisions will fully protect the
interests of honest and hard-working citizens of India and that those
five hundred and one thousand rupee notes hoarded by anti-national and
anti-social elements will become worthless pieces of paper.
The Prime Minister said the steps taken by the Government would
strengthen the hands of the common citizens in the fight against
corruption, black money and counterfeit notes.
Fully sensitive to some of the difficulties the common citizens may face
in the coming days, the Prime Minister has announced a series of steps
that will help overcome the potential problems.
Persons holding old notes of five hundred or one thousand rupees can
deposit these notes in bank or post offices from 10th November onwards
till 30th December, the Prime Minister announced. There are also some
limits placed on the withdrawals from ATMs and bank for the very short
run.
Shri Modi stated that on humanitarian grounds notes of five hundred and
one thousand rupees will be accepted at government hospitals, pharmacies
in government hospitals (with prescription of a doctor), booking
counters for railway tickets, government buses, airline ticket counters,
petrol, diesel and gas stations of PSU oil companies, consumer
cooperative stores authorized by the state or central government, milk
booths authorized by state government and crematoria, burial grounds.
Shri Modi emphasized that there is no restriction on any kind of
non-cash payments by cheques, demand drafts, debit or credit cards and
electronic fund transfer.
In his address the Prime Minister shared the insight into how the
magnitude of cash in circulation is linked to inflation and how the
inflation situation is worsened due to the cash deployed through corrupt
means. The Prime Minister added that it adversely affects the poor and
the neo-middle class people. He cited the example of the problems being
faced by the honest citizens while buying houses.
A time-tested commitment to eradicate black money
The Prime Minister has time and again said that the Government is
committed to ensure that the menace of black money is overcome. Over the
past two and a half years of the NDA Government, he has walked the talk
and led by example.
The very first decision of the Prime Minister led NDA government was the formation of a SIT on black money.
A law was passed in 2015 on disclosure of foreign bank accounts. In
August 2016 strict rules were put in place to curtail benami
transactions. During the same period a scheme to declare black money was
introduced.
The efforts have borne fruit. Over the past two and a half years, more
than Rs. 1.25 lakh crore of black money has been brought into the open.
Raising the issue of black money at the world stage
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again raised the issue of
black money at the global forum, including at important multilateral
summits and in bilateral meetings with leaders.
Record growth in last two and a half years
The Prime Minister said that the efforts of the Government have led to
India emerging as a bright spot in the global economy. India is a
preferred destination for investment and India is also an easier place
to do business in. Leading financial agencies have shared their optimism
about India’s growth as well.
Combined with this, Indian enterprise and innovation has received a
fillip due to the ‘Make in India’, ‘Start up India’ and ‘Stand up India’
initiatives that seek to celebrate enterprise, innovation and research
in India.
The historic announcements made by the Prime Minister will add value to the already thriving efforts of the Central Government.
AKT/AK
Source : PIB, Release ID :153403
***
