Flight of the ₹2,000 note
While demonetisation, of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, announced by the BJP government on November 8, 2016 was a blunder, the introduction of the ₹2,000 note thereafter was an even bigger blunder. It has been alleged that the introduction of the higher denomination of ₹2,000 only helped the rich and black money holders to hoard their ill-gotten money easily. That ₹2,000 notes have been missing in circulation for long is enough of a clue that the rich and black money holders stashed them away and must have converted them into other valuable assets including gold. Once again, it is only the common man, small traders and vendors and small industrialists who are going to suffer on account of a ‘consistently inconsistent’ ruling dispensation.
Tharcius S. Fernando,
Chennai
It is pertinent to mention here that the fight against black marketeers/hoarders can only succeed and reach its logical conclusion only if the government of the day initiates effective steps to target the illegal unaccounted money of ‘elite Indians’ stashed abroad in foreign banks and brings the offenders to book. It can thus be concluded that the Union government’s decision to withdraw the ₹2,000 note is a tacit admission of its skewed economic policy that demolished the rural economy. The latest move is a gimmick ahead of 2024.
B. Suresh Kumar,
Coimbatore
Kerala curios
In our country, there is no paucity of slogans highlighting the need for promoting locally made products. But, in reality, whenever one goes shopping, it is not uncommon to come across a vast array of “Made in China” products. It is local hand-made traditional products that find it very hard to compete with foreign goods because of the cost factor. One hopes that the Kerala project (Page 1, May 21) will motivate more States to come up with similar schemes to benefit local artisans.
A. Venkatasubramanian,
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
