Think before you act

One hopes the government had thought through its move to print only the quantum of currency required, not the entire amount equivalent to notes withdrawn, or this too will end in mismanagement, as did the withdrawal of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. The government has said that by December 31, only 50 per cent of Rs 15.44 lakh crores in circulation before November 8 will be back in circulation. It may help if the government explains how it has come to this 50 per cent figure. For now, it only means the huge harassment citizens are facing, more in unbanked and underbanked rural areas, won’t end anytime soon.

While the government aims to push digitialisation, it can’t force it down a billion people’s throats, specially as only a miniscule number has gone digital. It’s one thing to start a Jan Dhan Yojana, where a percentage of accounts is said to be fake, opened just to fulfil targets set for banks, quite another to push digitalisation when there are just 303 million mobile users in a country of 1.20 billion people. Decisionmakers should think inclusively, not just for a few, to avoid hardships for the vast majority.

One should support the government’s aim to curb black money, but there are ways to do it without punishing law-abiding people. Will this stop bribery and corruption, particularly among politicians and bureaucrats? Some bank officials already found ways to help high net-worth clients convert black money into white. The law is always one step behind criminal minds, of which there is no lack in India.