Myth vs reality: 6 things that the govt wants you to know about demonetisation
An abrupt recall of high-value currency last week has rattled millions of people who have lined up in banks and ATMs across India to exchange or deposit the now-withdrawn Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.
An abrupt recall of high-value currency last week has rattled millions of people who have lined up in banks and ATMs across India to exchange or deposit the now-withdrawn Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.
A bank employee counting the bundles of the received currency of old Rs 500 and 100 notes at cash counter at a Punjab National Bank branch in Chennai on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)
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The decision was meant to weed out illegal cash and counterfeit currency but bumpy implementation and frequent changing of withdrawal and exchange norms has also triggered a storm of rumours about the government’s next move.
But now, the finance ministry has issued a series of clarifications. Here are the most important ones:
MYTH: The prime minister is soon going to scrap Rs 50 and Rs 100 notes
REALITY: This is a baseless rumour, there are no immediate plans to scrap any other denominations
MYTH: The government’s next step is to seal bank lockers and seize gold and other personal jewellery
REALITY: There are no proposals to seal any locker or seize any jewellery
MYTH: The new notes are fitted with a GPS chip to track black money
REALITY: They aren’t
MYTH: The new Rs 2000 note is of poor quality and it bleeds colour
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REALITY: The notes have a security sign called intaglio printing. To find out if the note is genuine, rub it against a piece of cotton. This creates a turbo-electric effect that leaves the note’s colour on the cotton.
Dhrubo Jyoti is Deputy Executive Editor at Hindustan Times, where they help oversee the newspaper’s daily news and opinion coverage. They are part of the leadership team of the newspaper and their daily responsibilities include news selection, commissioning and editing, apart from planning and executing special projects. Apart from this, they write on national affairs at the intersection of caste and sexuality, with a focus on elections, politics and the lifeworlds of the caste marginalised. Formally trained in physics from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata and Bose Institute, Kolkata, they made a switch to studying journalism from the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai. Over the past decade at Hindustan Times, they have worked at the National Desk, Page 1 team, Integrated Copy Desk and Special Stories Team, before running the opinion page as views editor for two years, and then moving back as Senior Editor of News Operations. In the past 12 years, they have reported on numerous national and state elections, specialising on caste-informed coverage of major moments in India’s history, and focussing on leading investigations into government accountability and social inequities. Their narrative non-fiction work aims to put Dalit voices at the core of India’s LGBTQIA+ movements.
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