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| India: 2000 note that came to curb black money but was banned because of it |
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also announced the demonetization of the Rs 2000 currency note introduced after the 2016 demonetization.
In its statement issued on Friday, RBI said that Rs 2,000 notes can be deposited in banks till September 30, 2023. Opposition groups have reacted strongly to the RBI's announcement, calling its withdrawal from the Indian market a confirmation of past demonetization failures.
On the other hand, heated debates are going on in this regard on social media and people are sharing various memes because, for the first time when 2000 currency notes were introduced in late 2016, some circles of Indian media talked about it. Outlandish claims were made and it was described as a grand strategy or masterstroke of the Modi government to eradicate black money.
State Bank of India RBI announcement
People can deposit Rs 2,000 notes in their bank account or exchange their notes by visiting any bank branch, RBI, India's state bank, said in a statement.
Along with this, RBI has asked banks to immediately stop issuing new 2000 currency notes. Instructions have been sent to all banks for the exchange of notes.
According to the new guidelines, people can deposit 2000 notes in their bank account or exchange their notes by visiting any bank branch. From May 23, 2023, up to Rs 20,000 i.e. 10 notes of Rs 2000 can be exchanged in any bank at a time. No additional charges or fees will be charged for the exchange of notes.
RBI has said that till September 30, 2023, the 2000 notes can be collected or exchanged. However, the RBI has not clarified what will happen next. RBI is likely to issue new guidelines in this regard.
Opposition reaction
P Chidambaram, leader of India's main opposition Congress party and former finance minister, said the 2000 notes were never 'clean' notes. People never used this note in large numbers. It was used only temporarily to store black money.
The former Union Minister said that 'demonetization has completed its cycle'.
Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "First it was said that bringing 2000 notes will stop corruption." Now they are saying that by stopping the 2000 note, corruption will end, that is why we say that the Prime Minister should be educated.
Saurabh Bhardwaj, an Aam Aadmi Party leader, alleged that "when demonetization was done, hundreds of lives were lost, millions lost their jobs and the economy came to a standstill." Its benefit was neither in eradicating black money, stopping terrorism, nor stopping corruption.
Bhardwaj said that 'I don't know what will be the benefit of this initiative.'
Samajwadi Party President and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, Akhilesh Yadav has also criticized the Modi government for this decision of the RBI.
He told the news agency ANI that some people realize their mistakes late. The same happened with the 2000 note, but the public and the economy bore the brunt. The government does not run arbitrarily but wisely and honestly.
Congress leader Siddaramaiah, who is all set to take oath as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka, has said that by banning the 2000 notes, the BJP wants to divert people's attention from its failures.
He has asked that if the 2000 note is being banned now, why was it introduced in 2016? The Prime Minister is misusing demonetization for his political gain.
Discussions on social media
After India's state bank stopped 2000 thousand notes, many consumers are criticizing the move while some people are sharing an old tweet of Rahul Gandhi writing that 'When he raised the question It was incomprehensible that black money could be prevented by banning 1000 notes and circulating 2000 currency notes.
I am very disappointed with RBI and Narendra Modi's decision to demonetize Rs 2000 note. This move is incredibly insensitive to the economy and people. It will have a detrimental impact on domestic and international businesses as well as stakeholders. This is a poor decision that will undermine the country's development.
While a user named Rafal Gandhi 0.2 wrote humorously: 'According to reliable sources the chip with 2000 note was not connecting properly with 5G. Now the new 5000 note will come with a 5G super nano chip. If the black money keeps him in the closet, he will book an Uber himself and come back to the RBI office.
While a user named Sagarkazam, who has nearly four lakh followers, wrote that '2000 notes were introduced in 2016 to curb black money. 2000 notes are being phased out in 2023 to curb black money.
He also shared a screenshot of one of the Star Wars memes that reads 'You have become what you swore to destroy.'
There is a meme doing the rounds on WhatsApp that 2000 notes are not discontinued. In fact, the chip that was embedded in it has run out of battery. Notes are being withdrawn to charge its battery.'
Keep in mind that many times when the year 2016When 2000 notes were first introduced, some media channels claimed that it had a chip that could be detected, which was later proved to be just a rumor, and people even then He was called it ridiculous and still being made fun of.
2000 note was introduced after demonetization
One night in November 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi suddenly announced the demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, after which the government introduced a new large pink currency note of Rs 2,000.
On the night of November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetization, saying that after 12:00 PM, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will be discontinued and new notes will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India in their place. These will be currency notes of two thousand and five hundred rupees.
In the year 2021, the then Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said that in the years 2019 and 2020, the RBI has not printed new Rs 2000 notes.
On the other hand, Anurag Thakur said in the year 2020 that 'in March 2019, two thousand rupee notes worth Rs 329.10 crore were circulating in the market, whereas in March 2020 this number was Rs 273.98 crore.'
However, as of March 31, 2023, only Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 3.62 lakh crore were in circulation in the market. The highest circulation of these notes was Rs 6.73 lakh crore as on 31 March 2018, which was about 10 percent of the total notes.