Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a crackdown on Black Money and followed through with one of the most audacious moves in Indian history. The move to delegitimize 100 and 500 rupee notes in India left criminals who had been hoarding cash scrambling for a way to somehow escape the arm of the law.
Yes, there were some hurdles along the way and the people had to face hardships. It was, however, the spirit and courage with which every member of a proud India responded to this call that will be the biggest takeaway from this entire exercise.
People from the lowest strata of society to those that make up the upper crust of the country have hailed this move as a decisive first step in making India a financially responsible, tax-inclusive society.
There are plenty of metrics that are being shared on social media about how almost all of the money in circulation has been returned to the banking system. That this is being touted as a failure of the government is a complete fallacy.
Eminent economists have said that this infusion of cash into the formal banking sector will increase India’s tax net by an unprecedented level. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has already shared some promising metrics about the growth in tax collections since this move has taken place, proving that the government’s measures are working.
The killer blow to terrorist organizations in and around India’s border is also being completely ignored by the opposition. These organizations were responsible for disbursing a large amount of counterfeit currency into the economy to try and destabilize it while at the same time ensuring a never ending supply of finances to their own nefarious purposes.
The possible slowdown in the economy and the projected loss is also something that seems to be a figment of the opposition’s imagination. The latest report by the World Bank says that India is well on track to maintain a 7% growth even taking into effect demonetization.
Then there is the small matter of cleaning up the real estate sector in India. Black money was being parked in real estate leading to the artificial inflation of prices everywhere. The large majority of the country was finding it difficult to fulfill their dream of owning a house. Now, with prices of the real estate sector set to correct, the banks are bringing down interest rates on home loans and government announcing a slew of measures to help the lower strata of society. Housing is once again set to come within the grasps of millions of additional Indians.
The Political system in India is also awash with undocumented money and this move has hit the political parties hard as well. This is why it is no surprise that some of the noise being made by the political parties scream of desperation.
India finally has a Prime minister that will do more than just talk and the people realize this. Just take the results of the most recent polls being held in the country where BJP is winning by handsome margins. The forthcoming elections will hopefully also be no different in this regard.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi knew that the road to development would be a tough one and that India would have to swallow some bitter pills. He and his party have shown the courage to do what no one else was able to do before them.
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