“At the stroke of midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.”
We all remember this historic quote from the “Tryst with Destiny” speech by Jawaharlal Nehru on the eve of India’s Independence in August 1947. But who would have believed that after 69 years there will be another roar from our current Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, and this time to awaken India from corruption. The PM addressed the whole nation that after midnight on November 8th, 2016, the 500 and 1000 denomination currency notes in the Indian economy will not be valid to use. According to Huffington Post, this was a masterstroke by the government to challenge all three malaises plaguing the economy—a parallel economy, counterfeit currency and terror financing. However there was a considerable amount of cash crunch in the entire nation, as around 95% of all transactions in India were conducted in cash and 85% of workers were paid exclusively in cash and almost half of the population didn’t even have bank accounts.
Currently, after around 3 months of the announcement, the condition has improved significantly. Here is a timeline of how the days have passed in the last two month of the note ban:
9th Nov:
Banks and ATMs remained closed for the public on the first day of demonetization
Any amount deposited above 2.5 lakhs faced tax.
Government suspended highway toll till November 11.
Related: 3 reasons why the RBI status quo on repo rates
10th Nov:
Banks across India witnessed long queues to exchange and deposit annulled notes witnessed at banks across India, whilst the ATM’s remained shut
11th-12th Nov:
ATMs opened for the first time after demonetization announcement. But, after opening, most ATMs went dry in a few hours with people drawing the maximum possible amount; long queues beginning to see across the country
Government extended exemptions for using old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes till 14 November midnight, in selected places like the Government hospitals and the petrol pumps.
Toll waiver on national highways extended till 14 November midnight by the government.
13th-14th Nov:
Currency exchange limit increased from Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500
ATM withdrawal limit increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500
To augment cash supplies, newly printed hard-to-fake Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes were released in market
The weekly limit of Rs 20,000 for withdrawal from bank counters has been increased to Rs 24,000. The maximum limit of Rs 10,000 per day on such withdrawals has been removed.
14th Nov:
Government extended acceptance of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for public utility and fuel payment till 24 November.
Cash withdrawal for current account holders increased to Rs 50,000 per week
Charges on ATM transactions waived till 30 Dec
15th -16th Nov:
No relief from long queues at banks, ATMs
Government asks banks to put indelible ink on the right hand finger of those exchanging banned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes
SBI collected Rs 1,14,139-crore in deposits in last 7 days.
Related: The 500-1000 note demonetization decoded in India [infographic]
17th Nov:
Government lowers the exchange limit for now-defunct 500 and 1,000 rupee notes to Rs 2,000 from the existing cap of Rs 4,500
Cash withdrawal of Rs 2.5 lakh from bank account were allowed for wedding ceremonies
Government eases cash withdrawal limit for farmers by allowing them to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 cash per week from bank.
Government extended toll exemption on National Highways till November 24 midnight.
18th - 20th Nov:
No respite from queues, chaos; ATMs still fight cash shortage.
Congress party alleges 55 died due to demonetization, seeks PM's apology
Queues got shorter at banks; long wait at ATMs continued.
21th Nov:
Farmers allowed to use old Rs 500 notes for buying seeds
Bank received Rs 5.12 lakh crore of deposits and exchanged Rs 33,006 crore, RBI said in a release
22th Nov:
82,500 ATMs out of 2.2 lakh ATMs recalibrated to dispense new notes
Some relief for cash-starved public, queues shortened as about 40 percent of total ATMs have started dispensing new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes.
24th Nov:
Government extends toll exemption on NHs till 2 Dec mid-night
Government withdraws exchange facility of old currency notes and extends deadline for exemptions of using old Rs 500 notes up to 15 December midnight
25th Nov:
RBI says the facility to exchange old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will continue to be available at its counters
Queues at banks thin, but some branches still faces cash pain.
26th Nov - 30th Nov:
Deposits in Jan Dhan accounts rises sharply by around Rs 27,200 crore to Rs 72,834.72 crore in just 14 days after the announcement of ban on old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes
Rs 32,631 cr deposited in post offices since demonetization
Banks get about Rs 8.45 lakh crore worth of scrapped notes, RBI says
1st-3rd Dec:
Government says that old Rs 500 notes are valid till 2 Dec for fuel, air ticket purchase instead of 15 December announced earlier.
1.80 lakh ATMs re-calibrated to dispense Rs 500, 2,000 notes
6th-7th Dec:
Tax department seizes Rs 130 crore cash, jewellery and Rs 2,000 crore of undisclosed wealth has been admitted by taxpayers post demonetization
RBI defends note ban and plays down its impact on economy. Demonetisation was not done in haste, says RBI Governor during the monetary policy presser
Rs 11.55 lakh crore or 76 percent of junked notes have come back into the system, RBI said.
After these forgetful days, the whole demonetization buzz calmed down in the month of December, with many bureaucrats and the opposition leaders taming the move by the Prime Minister. However, it did made a difference for moving on to cashless transaction where every small outlet or shops in the metro cities as well as in the rural areas started using Paytm, Freecharge applications for their transactions. On 31st December 2016, there was one huge announcement of PM’s speech at 1900 IST. The entire universe was waiting for 00:00hrs for the New Year’s Eve, but Indians were keenly waiting for 1900 hrs for the PM’s. However, this time around there were no surprises by Mr.Modi, relieving some much wanted decisions which actually made people enjoy their New Year.
As the days passed by the long queues in ATM’s drained away and the cash crunch became history. By 15th January 2017, the cash limit withdrawing from the bank was increased. Also, there was a huge announcement on 30th January from the PMO that from 1st February, 2017, there will be no limit on any withdrawals done from the ATM’s.
The common people heaved a sigh of relief after the limit of withdrawal from ATM’s was removed. The masses were relived from standing in long queues for getting their own hard earned money. However, this masterstroke from the Government is successful because of us, the people. We have started this fight against corruption which will surely be reason for a new dawn in our country. A new India. A corruption-free India.!!