Editorial Note
Despite the glaring economic failures, the gamble of demonetisation & the botched implementation of GST, Prime Minister Modi is able to preserve his political capital.
In a televised address to the nation on November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi nullified the 500 and 1000 rupee notes as legal tender. A perplexed nation was given just a four-hour window before the note ban would take effect at midnight.
During the “shock and awe” declaration, the Prime Minister also mentioned that demonetised notes would be replaced by new 500 series and 2000-rupee notes, while the 1000-rupee denomination would remain permanently withdrawn. The government provided a 50-daytime-period to deposit (not transact) old 500 and 1000 rupee notes in banks to provide amnesty to black money hoarders and individual households to declare their cash assets to make it legal and accountable.