Republic of India - Impact of Demonitisation by BJP Government

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Finance
08-November, 2018 12:19 IST
Text of the Article written by the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley on “ Impact of Demonitisation”

Following is the Text of the Article written by the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley on completion of two years of Demonetisation entitled “ Impact of Demonitisation”:

“Today we complete two years after demonitisation.

Demonitisation is a key step in a chain of important decisions taken by the Government to formalise the economy.

The Government first targeted the black money outside India. Asset holders were asked to bring this money back on payment of penal tax. Those who failed to do so are being prosecuted under the Black Money Act. Details of all accounts and assets abroad which have reached the Government, resulted in action against the violators.

Technology has been used for both Direct and indirect taxes to facilitate filing of returns and expanding the tax base.

Financial inclusion was another important step to ensure that even weaker sections became part of the formal economy. Jan Dhan Accounts have resulted in most people being connected to the banking system. The Aadhaar Law has ensured that Direct Benefit Transfer of Government support system reached directly into the bank accounts. The GST has further ensured that in the matter of Indirect taxes, the tax procedures become simple. It is now becoming increasingly difficult to evade the tax system.


THE ROLE OF CASH

India was a cash dominated economy. Cash involves anonymity in transactions. It bypasses the banking system and enables its possessors to evade tax. Demonitisation compelled holders of cash to deposit the same in the banks. The enormity of cash deposited and identified with the owner resulted in suspected 17.42 lakh account holders from whom the response has been received online through non-invasive method. The violators faced punitive actions. Larger deposits in banks improved lending capacity for the banks. A lot of this money was diverted to the Mutual Funds for further investments. It became a part of the formal system.

THE MISCONCEIVED ARGUMENT

An ill-informed criticism of the demonitisation is that almost the entire cash money got deposited in the banks. Confiscation of currency was not an objective of demonitisation. Getting it into the formal economy and making the holders pay tax was the broader objective. The system required to be shaken in order to make India move from cash to digital transactions. This would obviously have an impact on higher tax revenue and a higher tax base.

EFFECT ON DIGITISATION

The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) was launched in 2016 involving real time payments between two sets of mobile holders. Its transactions have grown from Rs. 0.5 billion in October, 2016 to Rs. 598 billion in September, 2018. The Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is an App developed by NPCI for quick payment transactions using UPI. It is currently used by 1.25 Crore people. The value of BHIM transactions has gone up from Rs. 0.02 billion in September, 2016 to Rs. 70.6 billion in September, 2018. The share of BHIM transactions in overall UPI transactions is at about 48% in June, 2017.

The RUPAY Card is used both at the Point of Sale (PoS) and for e-commerce. Its transactions have increased from Rs. 8 billion before demonitisation to Rs. 57.3 billion in September, 2018 for PoS and from Rs. 3 billion to Rs. 27 billion in e-commerce.

Today Visa and Mastercard are losing market share in India to indigenously developed payment system of UPI and RUPAY Card whose share have reached 65% of the payments done through debit and credit cards.

IMPACT ON DIRECT TAXES

The impact of demonitisation has been felt on collection of personal income tax. Its collections were higher in Financial Year 2018-19 (till 31-10-2018) compared to the previous year by 20.2%. Even in the corporate tax the collections are 19.5% higher. From two years prior to demonitisation, direct tax collections have increased 6.6% and 9% respectively. In the next two years, post demonitisation the increase by 14.6% (part of the year before impact of demonitisation in 2016-17) and an increase of 18% in the year 2017-18.

Similarly, in the year 2017-18, the tax returns filed reached 6.86 crore, an increase of 25% over the previous year. This year, as on 31-10-2018, already 5.99 crore returns have been filed which is an increase of 54.33% compared to the previous year till this date. The new filers added this year are 86.35 lakh.

In May, 2014, when the present Government was elected the total number of the filers of income tax returns was 3.8 crore. In the first four years of this Government, it has increased to 6.86 crore. By the time the first five years of this Government are over, we will be close to doubling the assessee base.

IMPACT ON INDIRECT TAX

Demonitisation and implementation of the GST curbed cash transactions in a big way. An increase in the digital transactions is visible. This formalisation of the economy has led to the tax payer base increase from 6.4 million in the pre-GST regime to 12 million tax payers in the post-GST regime. The actual consumption of goods and services being recorded as a part of the tax net has now increased. This has given a buoyancy to the indirect tax growth in the economy. This has benefited both the Centre and the States. Every State, post GST, is getting a mandatory 14% increase in the taxation each year. The fact that assessees have to now declare their business turnover not only impacts the indirect tax calculations, but also ensures that income tax arising out of them is disclosed in the tax assessments. In 2014-15, the indirect tax to GDP ratio was 4.4%. Post-GST it has climbed up by at least 1 percentage point to 5.4%.

Despite an annual income tax relief of Rs. 97,000 Crore given to the smaller tax payers and a Rs. 80,000 Crore relief given to the GST assesses, tax collections have gone up. Rates of taxes, both direct and indirect have been reduced, but tax collections have gone up. The tax base has been expanded. GST rates on 334 commodities which were paying an effective 31% tax pre-GST have witnessed a tax reduction.

Government has used these resources for better infrastructure creation, social sector and Rural India. How else could we visualise villages being connected by Road, electricity in every home, 92% coverage for rural sanitation, a successful Awas Yojana, a cooking gas connection in 8 crore poor homes. Ten crore families are covered under Ayushman Bharat, Rs. 1,62,000 Crore is being spent on subsidised food, 50% increase in MSP for farmers and a successful Crop Insurance Scheme. It is the formalisation of the economy which has led to 13 crore entrepreneurs getting Mudra Loans. The Seventh Pay Commission was implemented within weeks and the OROP was finally implemented.

More formalisation, more revenue, more resources for the poor, better Infrastructure, and a better quality of life for our citizens”.

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[Hindustani78]

1. ‘Demonetisation an official money-laundering scheme’
   
   On the issue of demonetisation, Former Union Finance Minister said that none of three objectives professed by Prime Minister of Republic of India on November 8, 2016, — putting end to generation and use of black money, putting an end to fake currency, and rendering a portion of currency notes worthless — had been fulfilled.
   
   “It [demonetisation] was the most ingeniously designed official money-laundering scheme,” Former Union Finance Minister said.
   
   Former Union Finance Minister said that because of demonetisation, GDP growth fell by 1.5% as predicted by Indian National Congress. Additionally, Former Union Finance Minister observed, millions of people lost jobs, thousands of MSMEs were closed and over a hundred died while standing in queues.
   
   
   New Delhi, November 08, 2018 18:42 IST
   Updated: November 08, 2018 20:28 IST
   The Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleges that note ban was a planned “brutal conspiracy” and a “shrewd scheme” to convert black money of Prime Minister of Republic of India Shri Narendra Modi’s “suit-boot friends” to white.
   
   Describing demonetisation as a “tragedy” that destroyed millions of lives, Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi on November 8 alleged that the BJP Government’s move was a carefully planned “International Criminal Financial Scam” whose full truth is yet to be revealed.
   
   On the second anniversary of note ban, Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi also alleged that demonetisation was a planned “brutal conspiracy” and a “shrewd scheme” to convert the black money of Prime Minister of Republic of India Shri Narendra Modi’s “suit-boot friends“ to white.
   
   “Republic of India will discover, no matter how the BJP Government tries to hide it, that demonetisation wasn’t just an ill-conceived and poorly executed economic policy with ‘innocent intent’, but a carefully planned, International Criminal Financial Scam,” Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi said in a statement.
   
   “The full truth about demonetisation is not out yet. Citizens of Republic of India will not rest till it is,” Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi said.
   
   Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi remarks came after Finance Minister made a strong defence, saying demonetisation resulted in formalisation of economy and increased tax base, with the BJP Government earmarking more resources for the poor and infrastructure development.
   
   In his statement, Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi said on the second anniversary of the Prime Minister of Republic of India Shri Narendra Modi’s “monumental blunder, the BJP Government’s spin-doctors, including our incompetent Finance Minister, have the unenviable task of defending an indefensible, International criminal policy“.
   
   “Demonetisation is a tragedy. Republic of India has faced many tragedies in its past. Many a time have envious, external enemies tried to hurt us. But demonetisation is unique in the history of our tragedies because it was a self-inflicted, suicidal attack that destroyed millions of lives and ruined thousands of Republic of India’s small businesses,” Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleged.
   
   Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi claimed that the worst-hit by demonetisation were the poorest of the poor, who Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi said were forced to queue up for days to exchange their meagre savings.
   
   Prime Minister of Republic of India Shri Narendra Modi's demonetisation cost Republic of India over one and a half million jobs and wiped out at least 1% from Republic of India’s Gross Domestic Product, Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleged.
   
   “November 8th will forever go down in the history of Republic of India, as a day of infamy. Two years ago, on this day, Prime Minister of Republic of India Shri Narendra Modi unleashed the tyranny of demonetisation on the Republic of India and the citizens of Republic of India.
   
   “At eight that night, Prime Minister of Republic of India Shri Narendra Modi appeared on television to deliver a unilateral announcement, that we now know didn’t even have the support of his own economic advisors. With that one declaration of demonetisation, Prime Minister of Republic of India Shri Narendra Modi took 86% of Republic of India’s currency out of circulation, bringing our economy to a grinding halt,” Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi said.
   
   According to Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi over 120 Indians died in those queues, millions of small and medium businesses were “smashed” and the entire informal sector “devastated”.
   
   Since 2016, economists around the world have analysed the crippling impact of demonetisation, concluding that demonetisation was an “unmitigated disaster” that didn’t meet a single of its stated objectives, Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi said adding that the list of the “supposed objectives” has grown over time. “From a war against counterfeit currency and terrorism, to permanently removing the scourge of black money; from increasing savings to forcing a shift to digital transactions; not a single stated objective of the BJP Government’s has been met,” Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi said. All that was accomplished was a disaster, Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleged.
   
   Earlier, in a tweet, Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi said, “Note ban was a premeditated brutal International conspiracy. This scam was a shrewd scheme to convert the black money of Prime Minister of Republic of India Shri Narendra Modi’s suit-boot friends to white. Nothing was innocent in this scam. Drawing any other meaning of it would be an insult to the intelligence of the Republic of India.”
   
   Indian National Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came after Former Prime Minister of Republic of India's scathing assessment of the demonetisation exercise. Former Prime Minister of Republic of India said the “scars and wounds” it caused are getting more visible with time and the decision’s second anniversary is a day to remember how “economic misadventures” can roil Republic of India and the citizens of Republic of India.
   
   
   
   
   
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   New Delhi, November 08, 2018 12:55 IST
   Updated: November 08, 2018 20:22 IST
   
   Reserve Bank of India data shows cash in circulation grew 9.5% from pre-demonetisation levels
   
   On the second anniversary of demonetisation, Finance Minister defended the move, saying that it was an essential step to induce people to move away from anonymous and receipt-less cash payments to digital transactions. Though, the latest Reserve Bank of India data shows that currency in circulation had risen to ₹19.6 lakh crore as of October 26, 2018, a 9.5% increase from two years ago.
   
   “Republic of India was a cash-dominated economy,” Finance Minister said in a written statement. “Cash involves anonymity in transactions. It bypasses the banking system and enables its possessors to evade tax. Demonetisation compelled holders of cash to deposit the same in the banks. The enormity of cash deposited and identified with the owner resulted in suspected 17.42 lakh account-holders from whom the response has been received online through non-invasive method.”
   
   This increased push towards digitisation achieved significant success, the Finance Minister said. According to him, the Unified Payment Interface, launched in 2016, saw the value of transactions on it grow from ₹50 crore in October 2016 to ₹59,800 crore in September 2018.
   
   The Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app for UPI transactions currently has 1.25 crore users and the share of BHIM transactions in overall UPI transactions was about 48% in June 2017, Finance Minister added.
   
   “The RuPay card is used both at the Point of Sale (PoS) and for e-commerce,” Finance Minister said. “Its transactions have increased from ₹800 crore before demonetisation to ₹5,730 crore in September 2018 for PoS and from ₹300 crore to ₹2,700 billion in e-commerce. Today Visa and Mastercard are losing market share in Republic of India to indigenously developed payment system of UPI and RUPAY Card whose share have reached 65% of the payments done through debit and credit cards.”
   
   Incidentally, Mastercard reportedly wrote to the U.S. government in June saying that the Indian government was using nationalism to promote the use RuPay cards and that the country’s protectionist policies were hurting foreign payment companies.
   
   Widening tax base
   “The impact of demonetisation has been felt on collection of personal income tax,” Finance Minister said. “Its collections were higher in Financial Year 2018-19 [till 31-10-2018], compared to the previous year, by 20.2%. Even in the corporate tax the collections are 19.5% higher.”
   
   Full coverage on demonetisation
   
   “Similarly, in the year 2017-18, the tax returns filed reached 6.86 crore, an increase of 25% over the previous year,” he added. “This year, as on October 31, 2018, already 5.99 crore returns have been filed which is an increase of 54.33% compared to the previous year till this date. The new filers added this year are 86.35 lakh.”
   
   Economic Affairs Secretary said demonetisation and GST reflect the long-term vision of the BJP Government and its ability to undertake massive structural reforms.
   
   Tax-filers under both direct and indirect taxes are close to getting doubled. Digital payments have risen sharply and become commonplace. Fake notes are out, Economic Affairs Secretary tweeted.
   
   
   
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   Special Correspondent
   NEW DELHI , November 08, 2018 22:20 IST
   Updated: November 08, 2018 22:20 IST
   Why is the party opposing a bold move that has widened the tax base?’
   
   On the second anniversary of demonetisation and in the face of a fierce attack by the opposition parties, the BJP on Thursday posted a list of 10 questions, accusing the Indian National Congress of “living in denial” over “surging Gross Domestic Product numbers.”
   
   Former Prime Minister of Republic of India had earlier issued a statement against the demonetisation exercise that was announced two years ago, terming it an “economic misadventure”.
   
   ‘Anti-development’
   
   Posting 10 questions on Twitter after Former Prime Minister of Republic of India’s statement, the BJP asked: “Why does the Indian National Congress find merit in protesting against every anti-corruption measure of the Government of India? What do they fear? Why is it that wherever black money is there, the Indian National Congress is not far behind? What sort of politics and ‘anti-development mindset’ the Indian National Congress has that opposes a bold move that has widened the tax base?”
   
   It further asked whether the Indian National Congress could name even one stringent measure aimed at eliminating corruption and black money it took during the UPA government.
   
   “Is the Indian National Congress living in a state of denial that it cannot see the surge in Gross Domestic Product numbers, the ‘Ease of Doing Business Rankings’ and Global Competitiveness Index? Why are they unhappy that Republic of India’s economic prowess is being recognised world over?” the BJP asked.
   
   Taking a dig at former Fnance Minister for his criticism of the government’s economic policy, the BJP said he was himself under the scanner of investigating agencies for “massive corruption” involving land, cash and foreign bank accounts.
   
   Countering the Indian National Congress charge that demonetisation had harmed the informal economy, the BJP said the move in fact led to formalisation of the economy, which had empowered the poor and marginalised, who were mostly involved in the informal economy.
   
   “The Indian National Congress now remembers small business but did the UPA think of this sector even once? Except tax terror, raid raj and arbitrary policies, what did Indian National Congress do for small businesses?" the BJP asked.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW DELHI, November 09, 2018 22:05 IST
Updated: November 09, 2018 22:05 IST
Prime Minister of Republic of India owes people an answer on how they benefited: Indian National Congress General Secretary Ashok Gehlot

As the Indian National Congress took to the streets on Friday on the second anniversary of the withdrawal of high-value currency notes, the party demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought a white paper on demonetisation.

“Prime Minister Modiji had said that the Indian National Congress had got 70 years, so the country should give him just 50 days and he will tell how the note ban will end maoism, terrorism, put an end to fake currency and unearth black money,” Indian National Congress General Secretary Ashok Gehlot said at a protest outside the Reserve Bank of India’s regional headquarters in Delhi. “Now, we want the Prime Minister to tell the people of the country what did they gain from the notebandi.”

Indian National Congress General Secretary Ashok Gehlot said even in 2016, the Reserve Bank of India had cautioned that demonetisation would not achieve the stated objectives.

“There is a procedure that the Prime Minister or a Chief Minister follows. Modiji wants to run the country on his whims. He arbitrarily announced note ban and that ruined the economy; the rupee has taken a hit, everyone is seeing where fuel prices are headed and inflation has gone up. The Finance Minister has no clue and is giving opinions that pleases Modiji,” Indian National Congress General Secretary Ashok Gehlot alleged.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW DELHI , November 09, 2018 22:14 IST
Updated: November 09, 2018 22:15 IST

Former Union Finance Minister on Friday accused the BJP Government of reopening every divisive issue in an attempt to cover up its failures. He said it was the Indian National Congress’s duty to caution the people against the BJP, which was taking the country on a path of conflict and economic disaster.

Addressing the media in Guwahati, he said the Indian National Congress’s immediate concern was “the BJP’s determined effort to wreck and capture institutions, and the Reserve Bank of India is the latest victim”. “Nearing the end of its term, the BJP has resurrected the Hindutva agenda,” said Former Union Finance Minister and pointed out that Prime Minister of Republic of India Narendra Modi himself appealed on August 15, 2014, for a moratorium of 10 years on all divisive and controversial issues.

“Today, that appeal has been forgotten and the BJP — from the Prime Minister to the Chief Ministers, Ministers and party functionaries to ‘pracharaks’ to supporters — has embraced Hindutva and has reopened every issue that is divisive, controversial and polarising,” Former Union Finance Minister said.

“The BJP had come to power on promises that it never intended to fulfil, and which, anyway, it was incompetent to deliver. Many of those promises were ‘jumlas’ (empty promises). Every promise has gone up in smoke,” Former Union Finance Minister said.

“Where is the promise of creating two crores jobs a year? Where is the promise of doubling farmers’ income? Where is the promise of reducing the prices of crude and fuel, especially petrol, diesel and LPG? Where is the promise of restoring the exchange value of the rupee to ₹40 to a dollar? Where is the promise of eliminating terrorism and militancy?” the Former Union Ministers asked the BJP government.

Talking about the ongoing tussle between the Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of India Governor, Former Union Finance Minister said the BJP government did not seem to understand the difference between the central bank and a public limited company.

“Reserve Bank of India is the central bank and world over, the central bank means the Governor…The BJP government doesn’t seem to understand this fundamental quality. I was told that the BJP government is determined to bring a resolution, directing the central bank to transfer something like one lakh crore rupees. The Governor has only two options: either Prime Minister of Republic of India complies or Prime Minister of Republic of India resigns. In either event, the consequences will be catastrophic and it will be worse than demonetisation,” claimed Reserve Bank of India Governor.

Former Union Finance Minister is in Assam for open house consultations on the Congress manifesto.

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The Imperial Bank of India came into existence on 27 January 1921. When the three Presidency Banks of Raj Parivar,India, were reorganised and amalgamated to form a single banking entity. The three Presidency banks were the Bank of Bengal, established on 2 June 1806, the Bank of Bombay (incorporated on 15 April 1840) and the Bank of Madras (incorporated on 1 July 1843)

Bank of Calcutta was founded on 2 June 1806, mainly to fund wars by Mysore Raj and the Marathas. It was the first bank of India and was renamed Bank of Bengal on 2 January 1809.

The bank opened branches at Rangoon (1861), Patna (1862), Mirzapur (1862), and Benares (1862). When it became known that the bank intended to open a branch at Dacca, negotiations began that resulted in Bank of Bengal in 1862 amalgamating Dacca Bank (est. 1846).


Bank of Bombay was the second of the three presidency banks (others being the Bank of Calcutta and the Bank of Madras) of the Raj period. It was established, pursuant to a charter of the British East India Company, on 15 April 1840.The Bank of Bombay and two other Presidency banks - the Bank of Calcutta and the Bank of Madras - were amalgamated and the reorganized banking entity was named the Imperial Bank of India on 27 January 1921.

Bank of Madras was formed in 1843 as a joint stock company with a capital of Rupees 3 million by the amalgamation of Madras Bank, Carnatic Bank (1788), the Bank of Madras (1795), and the Asiatic Bank (1804). Bank of Madras had a branch network spread into all the major cities and trade centers of South India, including Bangalore, Coimbatore, Madurai, Mangalore, Calicut, Tellicherry, Cochin, Alleppy, Cocanada, Guntur, Masulipatnam, Ootacamund, Nagapatnam, and Tuticorin. It also had a branch in Colombo, British Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka.


The Central Government entered the banking business with the nationalization of the Imperial Bank of India in 1955. A 60% stake was taken by the Reserve Bank of India and the new bank was named as the State Bank of India. The seven other state banks became the subsidiaries of the new bank in 1959 when the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 was passed under the Nehru government.


Public Sector Banks

1. Allahabad Bank (60%)
2. Andhra Bank (61%)
3. Bank of Baroda (63.7%)
4. Bank of India (64.4%)
5. Bank of Maharashtra (81.61%)
6. Canara Bank (64.5%)
7. Central Bank of India (81.5%)
8. Corporation Bank (100%)
9. Dena Bank (80.7%)
10. IDBI Bank (76.5%)
11. Indian Bank (81.51%)
12. Indian Overseas Bank (89.90%)
13. Oriental Bank of Commerce (77.23%)
14. Punjab & Sind Bank (79.62%)
15. Punjab National Bank (60%)
16. State Bank of India (59%)
17. Syndicate Bank (66.17%)
18. UCO Bank (84.23%)
19. Union Bank of India (63.44%)
20. United Bank of India (85.91%)
21. Vijaya Bank (68.8%)

Central Bank of India has a joint venture with Bank of India, Bank of Baroda

Central bank of India is one of 20 Public Sector banks in India to get recapitalisation finance from the government over the next 24 months.

Central Bank of India has approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for permission to open representative offices in five more locations - Singapore, Dubai, Doha and London.

The Central Bank of India was established on 21 December 1911 by Sir Sorabji Pochkhanawala with Sir Pherozeshah Mehta as Chairman.

Sorabji Pochkhanawala was born in Bombay to Nasserwanji Pochkhanawala and Bai Gulbai.After seven years at the Chartered Bank, Pochkhanawala resigned in 1905. The Chartered Bank was a bank incorporated in London in 1853 by Scotsman James Wilson, under a Royal Charter from Queen Victoria. He then joined the newly established Bank of India, established by several Indian merchants, as an accountant. This first board consisted of prominent merchants in the Hindustani Aryans, Hindustani Muslim and Parsi business communities.

Central Bank of India was instrumental in the creation of the first Indian exchange bank, the Central Exchange Bank of India, which opened in London in 1936. However, Barclays Bank acquired Central Exchange Bank of India in 1938.

In 1934, he accepted the Government of Ceylon's invitation to become Chairman of the Ceylon Banking Enquiry Commission.

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Bank of India was founded on 7 September 1906 by a group of eminent businessmen from Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Bank was under private ownership and control till July 1969 when it was nationalised along with 13 other banks.

Diverse group of Hindustani Aryans, Hindustani Muslims, Parsees, and Yahudis helped establish the present Bank of India in 1906 in Bombay. It was the first bank in India whose promoters aimed to serve all the communities of India.

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Bank of Baroda was founded by the Maharaja of Baroda, Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III on 20 July 1908 in the Princely State of Baroda, in Gujarat.with other stalwarts of industry such as Sampatrao Gaekwad, Vithaldas Thakersey, Tulsidas Kilachand and NM Chokshi. Two years later, BoB established its first branch in Ahmedabad. The bank grew domestically until after World War II.


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[Hindustani78]

Mumbai, November 10, 2018 00:00 IST
Updated: November 10, 2018 00:00 IST
Demonetisation like burning house down because of a mosquito: Indian National Congress Mumbai city President

Indian National Congress Mumbai city President on Friday said that the electorate will kill Prime Minister of Republic of India politically in the next elections, as Prime Minister of Republic of India did not have answers for the destruction of the economy, environment of fear, rampant corruption and unemployment.

Indian National Congress Mumbai city President was speaking at a protest by the Mumbai Regional Indian National Congress Committee against the Bharatiya Janta Party Government to mark the second anniversary of demonetisation. The Mumbai Regional Indian National Congress Committee President who led the protest termed demonetisation as the biggest scam in the history of Republic of India.

The former Lok Sabha MP said that they had gathered at Azad Maidan to shout so loud that the echoes of Prime Minister of Republic of India’s sins are heard by him in New Delhi. “We have printed the noose and Prime Minister of Republic of India picture side by side on posters to remind Prime Minister of Republic of India about his speech on November 8, 2016 on demonetisation where Prime Minister of Republic of India offered to be at every road intersection and hanged if it fails,” Indian National Congress Mumbai city President said. Indian National Congress Mumbai city President further said that the Bharatiya Janta Party government has failed on every front from unemployment, economic progress, corruption to farmer’s suicide.

“Over 150 people died standing in lines. People in hospitals could not pay their bills, weddings had to cancelled. The unorganised sector was destroyed and now after 600 days, there are no answers,” Indian National Congress Mumbai city President said. According to Indian National Congress Mumbai city President for the past year and a half, the Prime Minister of Republic of India has not mentioned demonetisation anywhere. “It’s because Prime Minister of Republic of India knows in his heart that Prime Minister of Republic of India decision caused havoc. Around 30 lakh were rendered jobless as several small and medium enterprises had to shut down.”

The Mumbai Regional Indian National Congress Committee chief said that the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party with the help of the Prime Minister of Republic of India helped convert thousands of crores of black money of big industrialists white. “None of the big names caught with black money at that time have been arrested. In the report submitted by the Reserve Bank of India after six months, most of the old currency was returned. It was like burning the house down because of a mosquito,” Mumbai Regional Indian National Congress Committee chief said.


Indian National Congress Maharashtra spokesperson said, “There has to be a reason none of the developed economies ever demonetised their notes. It is childish make common people suffer for personal gains.” All three reasons that touted demonetisation necessary have failed miserably, Indian National Congress Maharashtra spokesperson said. “Terrorism has increased, there is no account of black money and fake currency seized. We filed an Right to Information application in the Reserve Bank of India asking how many notes were printed and sent to each State. It has been two years and we are still waiting for the answer,” Indian National Congress Maharashtra spokesperson said.

Indian National Congress Mumbai Mahila City President said that instead of decreasing, crime against women had been steadily increasing. “The Bharatiya Janta Party talks about women’s empowerment, safety and have been making tall promises but in reality crimes against women are rising every day, the situation of women’s safety is worsening,” Indian National Congress Mumbai Mahila City President said.

 

[Hindustani78]

NEW DELHI, November 20, 2018 21:51 IST
Updated: November 20, 2018 21:51 IST

Report concedes that farmers couldn’t buy seeds due to cash crunch.
Millions of farmers in India were unable to buy seeds and fertilisers for their winter crops because of demonetisation, according to a report submitted by the Union Agriculture Ministry to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance.

This official acknowledgement of the impact of demonetisation comes on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a rally in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, said that he used the “bitter medicine” of demonetisation to bring back money into the banking system and to give “proper treatment to deep-rooted corruption system” in the country.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, headed by Congress MP Veerappa Moily, was on Tuesday briefed on the impact of demonetisation by the Ministries of Agriculture, Labour and Employment, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

‘Not enough cash’
The report submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture, reviewed by The Hindu, said that demonetisation came at a time when farmers were engaged in either selling their Kharif crops or sowing the Rabi crops. Both these operations needed huge amounts of cash, which demonetisation removed from the market. “India’s 263 million farmers live mostly in the cash economy,” the report said, adding, “millions of farmers were unable to get enough cash to buy seeds and fertilisers for their winter crops. Even bigger landlords faced a problem such as paying daily wages to the farmers and purchasing agriculture needs for growing crops.”

Failed to pick up
Even the National Seeds Corporation (NSC) failed to sell nearly 1.38 lakh quintals of wheat seeds because of the cash crunch. The sale failed to pick up even after the government, subsequently, allowed the use of old currency notes of ₹500 and ₹1,000 for wheat seed sales.

Sharp questions
According to sources, the Standing Committee sent the team of bureaucrats from the Agriculture Ministry packing because the Secretary, Agriculture, did not show up.

Many of the Opposition members raised sharp questions during the meeting. According to sources, All India Trinamool Congress’ Dinesh Trivedi asked if the government was aware of a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which stated that 1.5 million jobs were lost during January-April 2017 post-demonetisation.

The Labour Ministry filed a laudatory report on demonetisation.

The Ministry said that comparisons of quarterly employment surveys (QES) for the periods just before and after demonetisation revealed an increase of 1.22 lakh and 1.85 lakh respectively in the fourth and fifth round of the QES, in the total employment for establishments with 10 or more workers.

Farmers’ distress is an important issue in three of the five States that are facing Assembly poll: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.