<p>&ldquo;Organised loot and a legalised plunder&rdquo; is how Dr Manmohan Singh describes &lsquo;demonetisation&rsquo;. In Ahmedabad, on Tuesday, our former prime minister said: &ldquo;November 8 was a black day for our economy and, indeed, our democracy,&rdquo; referring to this day last year when the government announced its move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&ldquo;To promote a less cash economy, coercive steps like demonetisation are ineffective. Nowhere in the world has any nation taken such a drastic step that swept off 86% of the currency in circulations,&rdquo; he said.</p>

<p>Our Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says demonetisation was a &lsquo;watershed moment&rsquo; in Indian history. Hitting out at detractors, and perhaps especially miffed at his illustrious predecessor&rsquo;s comments, Jaitley said: &ldquo;An anti-black money drive is a moral step, loot is what happened in 2G, in Commonwealth Games 2010 and in coal block allocation.&rdquo;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Reducing the amount of cash in the economy won&#39;t end corruption but definitely make it difficult: <a href="https://twitter.com/arunjaitley?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@arunjaitley</a> defends <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/demonitization?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#demonitization</a></p>
&mdash; prasad sanyal (@prasadsanyal) <a href="https://twitter.com/prasadsanyal/status/927840191284371456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>While it may be politically expedient to brush off Dr Manmohan Singh and highlight the graft cases when he was the prime minister from 2004 to 2014, it must be conceded that Dr Singh does know a thing or two about the Indian economy. He does have a Tripos from Cambridge and a DPhil from Oxford in Economics. Besides, he has been a Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, headed the Planning Commission in its heydays in the 1980s and, as finance minister between 1991 and 1996, was the harbinger of economic liberalisation in India. &nbsp;</p>

<p>In a series of tweets and graphic templates, Prime Minister Modi has defended the move saying, it has resulted in the &lsquo;highest ever unearthing of black money and dealt a decisive blow to Naxalism and terrorism.&rsquo;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Giving strong impetus to the fight against black money. <a href="https://t.co/4fvbC31VAW">https://t.co/4fvbC31VAW</a><br />
<br />
via NMApp <a href="https://t.co/G0TMkBrX19">pic.twitter.com/G0TMkBrX19</a></p>
&mdash; PMO India (@PMOIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/927812625043398656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Highest ever unearthing of black money<a href="https://t.co/4fvbC31VAW">https://t.co/4fvbC31VAW</a><br />
<br />
via NMApp <a href="https://t.co/jmrJRPVHSL">pic.twitter.com/jmrJRPVHSL</a></p>
&mdash; PMO India (@PMOIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/927812417203068928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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<p>The verdict is still out on the impact of this move on the Indian economy, and as with other &lsquo;watershed&rsquo; moments in recent Indian history, it has left public opinion deeply divided.</p>

<p>In a society ridden with inequality and poverty, where the &lsquo;aam aadmi&rsquo; is faced with corruption to get even basic amenities, economics doesn&rsquo;t wash. The promise of nabbing those with black money does, and little wonder then, that the move was received positively - as a decisive measure that will rid India of corruption.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Opposition parties will observe the one-year mark of demonetisation on Wednesday as a &ldquo;Black Day&rdquo;. The Bharatiya Janata Party will commemorate the anniversary as &ldquo;Anti-Black Money Day&rdquo;. &nbsp;</p>

<p>The government has so far been able to pitch demonetisation as a move that was pro-poor and anti-rich, but as the economy shows signs of distress will Robin Hood and his merry band of men be able to assuage the &lsquo;aam aadmi&rsquo;?&nbsp;</p>

<p>As the Finance Minister pointed out today, there has been a shrinking of the informal sector, a wider tax base and greater digitisation in the economy. The government has been on point with its message and there are definite merits to these arguments.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Multi-dimensional success of Demonetisation. <a href="https://t.co/4fvbC31VAW">https://t.co/4fvbC31VAW</a><br />
<br />
via NMApp <a href="https://t.co/l3qbArBcFy">pic.twitter.com/l3qbArBcFy</a></p>
&mdash; PMO India (@PMOIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/927812281378816000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>Though viewed as a bold and landmark move by the masses, a former Finance Minister of India from the Prime Minister&rsquo;s own BJP, Yashwant Sinha has criticised the move. As businessmen and traders start accounting for the full brunt of the impact of demonitisation, many believe it may not be the best way to tackle corruption.</p>

<p>In August this year, the Reserve Bank of India reported Indians returned almost all of the estimated Rs 15.4 lakh crore ($242 billion) in high-currency bills removed from circulation. It implies that a very small amount of unaccounted for money was held in cash.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While there has been a lot of hullabaloo over different government agencies sharing different sets of numbers, the total value of non-cash transactions rose by around 19 per cent between November 2016 and August 2017. The value and volume of mobile-based transactions recorded negative growth rates between November 2016 and August 2017.</p>

<p>All available evidence suggests that cash has returned to daily transactions and demonetisation may not have had the desired effect, at least in the short-term.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


All available evidence suggests that cash has returned to daily transactions and demonetisation may not have had the desired effect, at least in the short-term.?

“Organised loot and a legalised plunder” is how Dr Manmohan Singh describes ‘demonetisation’. In Ahmedabad, on Tuesday, our former prime minister said: “November 8 was a black day for our economy and, indeed, our democracy,” referring to this day last year when the government announced its move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. “To promote a less cash economy, coercive steps like demonetisation are ineffective. Nowhere in the world has any nation taken such a drastic step that swept off 86% of the currency in circulations,” he said. Our Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says demonetisation was a ‘watershed moment’ in Indian history. Hitting out at detractors, and perhaps especially miffed at his illustrious predecessor’s comments, Jaitley said: “An anti-black money drive is a moral step, loot is what happened in 2G, in Commonwealth Games 2010 and in coal block allocation.” Reducing the amount of cash in the economy won't end corruption but definitely make it difficult: @arunjaitley defends #demonitization — prasad sanyal (@prasadsanyal) November 7, 2017 × While it may be politically expedient to brush off Dr Manmohan Singh and highlight the graft cases when he was the prime minister from 2004 to 2014, it must be conceded that Dr Singh does know a thing or two about the Indian economy. He does have a Tripos from Cambridge and a DPhil from Oxford in Economics. Besides, he has been a Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, headed the Planning Commission in its heydays in the 1980s and, as finance minister between 1991 and 1996, was the harbinger of economic liberalisation in India. In a series of tweets and graphic templates, Prime Minister Modi has defended the move saying, it has resulted in the ‘highest ever unearthing of black money and dealt a decisive blow to Naxalism and terrorism.’ Giving strong impetus to the fight against black money. https://t.co/4fvbC31VAW via NMApp pic.twitter.com/G0TMkBrX19 — PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 7, 2017 × Highest ever unearthing of black moneyhttps://t.co/4fvbC31VAW via NMApp pic.twitter.com/jmrJRPVHSL — PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 7, 2017 × The verdict is still out on the impact of this move on the Indian economy, and as with other ‘watershed’ moments in recent Indian history, it has left public opinion deeply divided. In a society ridden with inequality and poverty, where the ‘aam aadmi’ is faced with corruption to get even basic amenities, economics doesn’t wash. The promise of nabbing those with black money does, and little wonder then, that the move was received positively - as a decisive measure that will rid India of corruption. The Opposition parties will observe the one-year mark of demonetisation on Wednesday as a “Black Day”. The Bharatiya Janata Party will commemorate the anniversary as “Anti-Black Money Day”. The government has so far been able to pitch demonetisation as a move that was pro-poor and anti-rich, but as the economy shows signs of distress will Robin Hood and his merry band of men be able to assuage the ‘aam aadmi’? As the Finance Minister pointed out today, there has been a shrinking of the informal sector, a wider tax base and greater digitisation in the economy. The government has been on point with its message and there are definite merits to these arguments. Multi-dimensional success of Demonetisation. https://t.co/4fvbC31VAW via NMApp pic.twitter.com/l3qbArBcFy — PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 7, 2017 × Though viewed as a bold and landmark move by the masses, a former Finance Minister of India from the Prime Minister’s own BJP, Yashwant Sinha has criticised the move. As businessmen and traders start accounting for the full brunt of the impact of demonitisation, many believe it may not be the best way to tackle corruption. In August this year, the Reserve Bank of India reported Indians returned almost all of the estimated Rs 15.4 lakh crore ($242 billion) in high-currency bills removed from circulation. It implies that a very small amount of unaccounted for money was held in cash. While there has been a lot of hullabaloo over different government agencies sharing different sets of numbers, the total value of non-cash transactions rose by around 19 per cent between November 2016 and August 2017. The value and volume of mobile-based transactions recorded negative growth rates between November 2016 and August 2017. All available evidence suggests that cash has returned to daily transactions and demonetisation may not have had the desired effect, at least in the short-term.

#Demonetisation: Indian economy watershed or waterboarded?

<p>The funny thing about corruption is that it is always someone else who is corrupt. This holds true at all levels and everywhere in the world. Individuals say that government officials and businessmen are corrupt. Government officials and businessmen say political leaders are corrupt. Political leaders say countries and systems are corrupt. Countries say other countries are corrupt. International organisations say everyone is corrupt (except themselves), but to different degrees.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But we know that corruption is a two-way street. If there is no give, there cannot be any take.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>If everyone is implicated in corruption, willingly or unwillingly, then the solution must include everyone as well</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>If this rather simple observation makes its way into such conversations, the arguments change gear quickly and predictably. Individuals lament that they have no choice but to grease palms to get their work done. Businessmen declare that they must keep political leaders happy to ensure the profitability of their businesses. Political leaders admit that they cannot run political parties without money. Even governments happily &lsquo;facilitate&rsquo; deals with any regime because national interest is supreme, and, completely disregarding conflicts of interest, international organisations take funds from all possible sources because they must first survive to be able to work for the larger public good.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In effect, this establishes a simple principle &ndash; that a practice, in this case corruption, becomes the norm only when practically <i>everyone</i> becomes a participant in it, whether as a giver or a taker, or both. &nbsp;</p>

<p>Does this, therefore, imply that almost everyone in the country is corrupt?&nbsp;</p>

<p>In his uncompromising way, Gandhiji certainly seemed to think so. &ldquo;A corrupt government and a corrupt police presuppose the existence of corruption among the people who submit to government and police corruption.&rdquo; From the legal perspective as well, the answer is, yes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Anti-corruption laws mostly consider both the giver and the taker as equally culpable. The Prevention of Corruption Act of the Indian Penal Code, the (amended) Benami Transactions (Prohibitions) Act, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act are well-known and contain clauses to this effect.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, when looked at from an ethical perspective, culpability depends on whether someone is participating in a corrupt practice knowingly and willfully. In other words, when corruption becomes the norm, almost everyone indeed becomes a participant in such practices, but only those who do so <i>knowingly and willfully</i> ought to be deemed corrupt.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Anti-corruption laws ignores the fact that a vast majority of ordinary people are forced to participate in corrupt practices simply to receive what is ordinarily their due</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Attempting to tackle corruption only through the legal framework, therefore, has several implications. First, a purely technical reading of anti-corruption laws ignores the fact that a vast majority of ordinary people are forced to participate in corrupt practices simply to receive what is ordinarily their due, for example, a government certificate. There <i>is</i> participation in a corrupt practice, but of the unwilling kind.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Second, establishing full knowledge of and willingness to participate in a corrupt practice is notoriously difficult in a legal context. This is a major reason why despite the widespread practices of corruption, legal convictions handing out appropriate sanctions have been few and far between. But, most importantly, when framed by the legal system, any anti-corruption effort can <i>only</i> be carried out as an individual action in individual cases.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While it is true that several popular social and political movements against corruption have seen the light of day, these too have, primarily, sought new legislation or new institutions as the outcome, which brings us back to the problem outlined above. It could be said that the Right to Information Act at least attempted to establish a more participatory process to fight corruption, but embedded as it is in the same legal system, its limitations are also beginning to show.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>When framed by the legal system, any anti-corruption effort can only be carried out as an individual action in individual cases</h5>
</blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>How is demonetisation different then? After all, it is also a policy decision strengthened by supporting legislation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The main difference is that it affects <i>everyone</i> and it obliges <i>everyone</i> to act. There is no individual action, and there is no individual court case. It is as widespread in its scale as corruption.&nbsp;</p>

<p>To revisit the original point, we know that when corruption is the norm, then virtually everyone participates in corrupt practices, whether knowingly and willfully or not. However, all our efforts to curb corruption so far have been structurally constrained to allow only individual investigations into individual cases of corruption. Clearly, focusing on individual actions to battle a widespread problem has not made much of an impact, or else corruption would no longer have been the norm.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Demonetisation has approached the problem very differently by including <i>everyone</i> in the process of battling corruption, knowingly and willfully or not. If everyone is implicated in the problem, then the solution must implicate everyone as well. There is far greater conceptual simplicity in such an approach.</p>

<p>No doubt there remain several difficult questions related to the efficacy of demonetisation in curbing corruption and its implementation. However, understanding the conceptual coherence of this action may allow us to think beyond the immediate and the individual.&nbsp;</p>

<p>After all, we have always wanted to clean up the system. But the simple truth is that <i>we</i> are the system. And demonetisation gives us the opportunity to clean corruption by cleansing ourselves. Just by standing in &ldquo;the queue to end all queues&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p>


Why demonetisation is conceptually different from previous anti-corruption efforts

The funny thing about corruption is that it is always someone else who is corrupt. This holds true at all levels and everywhere in the world. Individuals say that government officials and businessmen are corrupt. Government officials and businessmen say political leaders are corrupt. Political leaders say countries and systems are corrupt. Countries say other countries are corrupt. International organisations say everyone is corrupt (except themselves), but to different degrees. But we know that corruption is a two-way street. If there is no give, there cannot be any take. If everyone is implicated in corruption, willingly or unwillingly, then the solution must include everyone as well × If this rather simple observation makes its way into such conversations, the arguments change gear quickly and predictably. Individuals lament that they have no choice but to grease palms to get their work done. Businessmen declare that they must keep political leaders happy to ensure the profitability of their businesses. Political leaders admit that they cannot run political parties without money. Even governments happily ‘facilitate’ deals with any regime because national interest is supreme, and, completely disregarding conflicts of interest, international organisations take funds from all possible sources because they must first survive to be able to work for the larger public good. In effect, this establishes a simple principle – that a practice, in this case corruption, becomes the norm only when practically everyone becomes a participant in it, whether as a giver or a taker, or both. Does this, therefore, imply that almost everyone in the country is corrupt? In his uncompromising way, Gandhiji certainly seemed to think so. “A corrupt government and a corrupt police presuppose the existence of corruption among the people who submit to government and police corruption.” From the legal perspective as well, the answer is, yes. Anti-corruption laws mostly consider both the giver and the taker as equally culpable. The Prevention of Corruption Act of the Indian Penal Code, the (amended) Benami Transactions (Prohibitions) Act, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act are well-known and contain clauses to this effect. However, when looked at from an ethical perspective, culpability depends on whether someone is participating in a corrupt practice knowingly and willfully. In other words, when corruption becomes the norm, almost everyone indeed becomes a participant in such practices, but only those who do so knowingly and willfully ought to be deemed corrupt. Anti-corruption laws ignores the fact that a vast majority of ordinary people are forced to participate in corrupt practices simply to receive what is ordinarily their due × Attempting to tackle corruption only through the legal framework, therefore, has several implications. First, a purely technical reading of anti-corruption laws ignores the fact that a vast majority of ordinary people are forced to participate in corrupt practices simply to receive what is ordinarily their due, for example, a government certificate. There is participation in a corrupt practice, but of the unwilling kind. Second, establishing full knowledge of and willingness to participate in a corrupt practice is notoriously difficult in a legal context. This is a major reason why despite the widespread practices of corruption, legal convictions handing out appropriate sanctions have been few and far between. But, most importantly, when framed by the legal system, any anti-corruption effort can only be carried out as an individual action in individual cases. While it is true that several popular social and political movements against corruption have seen the light of day, these too have, primarily, sought new legislation or new institutions as the outcome, which brings us back to the problem outlined above. It could be said that the Right to Information Act at least attempted to establish a more participatory process to fight corruption, but embedded as it is in the same legal system, its limitations are also beginning to show. When framed by the legal system, any anti-corruption effort can only be carried out as an individual action in individual cases × How is demonetisation different then? After all, it is also a policy decision strengthened by supporting legislation. The main difference is that it affects everyone and it obliges everyone to act. There is no individual action, and there is no individual court case. It is as widespread in its scale as corruption. To revisit the original point, we know that when corruption is the norm, then virtually everyone participates in corrupt practices, whether knowingly and willfully or not. However, all our efforts to curb corruption so far have been structurally constrained to allow only individual investigations into individual cases of corruption. Clearly, focusing on individual actions to battle a widespread problem has not made much of an impact, or else corruption would no longer have been the norm. Demonetisation has approached the problem very differently by including everyone in the process of battling corruption, knowingly and willfully or not. If everyone is implicated in the problem, then the solution must implicate everyone as well. There is far greater conceptual simplicity in such an approach. No doubt there remain several difficult questions related to the efficacy of demonetisation in curbing corruption and its implementation. However, understanding the conceptual coherence of this action may allow us to think beyond the immediate and the individual. After all, we have always wanted to clean up the system. But the simple truth is that we are the system. And demonetisation gives us the opportunity to clean corruption by cleansing ourselves. Just by standing in “the queue to end all queues”.

From one to all: Looking at demonetisation on the Anti-corruption Day

anti-corruption-day

Anti Corruption Day, News on Anti Corruption Day, stories on Anti Corruption Day, articles on Anti Corruption Day, Anti Corruption Day stories at Wion, Anti Corruption Day news, Anti Corruption Day latest news

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#Demonetisation: Indian economy watershed or waterboarded?

From one to all: Looking at demonetisation on the Anti-corruption Day