The Black and White of Demonetisation on Its First Anniversary

On the 1st anniversary of demonetisation, citizens from myriad walks of life voice their opinion on its impact.

Citizens react to one year of note ban

(Photo: ANI/Altered by The Quint)

On 8 November 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a speech announced the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes from circulation, in an attempt to curb black money and corruption.

It has been one year since the BJP-led government implemented this historic economic measure. On the first anniversary of this landmark step, citizens from different walks of life express their opinion. Azeez, working in the hotel industry at Cochin, was skeptical of the positive impact of demonetisation.

We are still facing the impact of demonetisation even though it happened in 2016. The hotel business has not survived the incident. We have seen almost a 30-35% drop in business in the hotel industry.

Azeez, Associate State Secretary, Hotel industry

On the contrary, a local from Mumbai praised the government on making this unexpected move, saying, “eradicating corruption would help the nation to progress.”

I think it is a good move. If it can eradicate corruption, it will be very nice. The initial difficulties are over now. There is no dearth of currency in the markets, people have access to the new notes as it is easily available now.

Local 

After demonetisation, the central government introduced a tax reform on 1 July – GST.

Video Editor: Vivek Gupta