The Big Reverse

Book excerpt: 8 November 2016 was a black swan event in Indian history. At one stroke, 86 per cent of the currency in circulation was demonetized, causing confusion, chaos and endless misery to the common Indian. While the Modi government claimed that it was the silver bullet that India needed to eliminate many of its longstanding problems such as black money, corruption, tax evasion and terror funding, the months that followed proved it otherwise. The return of 99.7 per cent of the banned 500 rupee and 1,000-rupee notes showed that the RBI's idea of Demonetization Dividend was nothing but a mirage. In the process, livelihoods of millions in the informal sector were destroyed, causing enormous distress to farmers and, traders and forcing many micro, small and medium businesses into bankruptcy. One of India's most respected bankers, Meera H. Sanyal provides the most comprehensive analysis of the policy, its execution and pitfalls. The Big Reverse presents unprecedented insights backed by data, history and research. And as a result, answers the questions that still continue to haunt Indians, on the what, why and how of demonetization.