At this exact time, exactly a year ago, the Prime Minister stunned the nation with his announcement that all 1,000 and 500-rupee notes were being demonetised or banned as legal currency. And that it was being done so by midnight. Soon, there was panic as people rushed to banks to deposit their notes. Just like that, in one sweep, 96 per cent of India's currency was wiped out, a move described by some as bold, risky and courageous and by others as an overwhelming disaster which led to the deaths of 150 people, destroyed lives, jobs and businesses. When the PM announced the notes ban, he stated three objectives: bringing back black money, countering terrorism and fake currency. That goalpost soon shifted to a cashless society. Today, a year later, the success or failure of demonetisation is being measured by several yardsticks - did the black money come back? Did terrorism in Kashmir really go down? How much fake currency was actually seized? How many people have shifted to digital transactions? And are there really more people being forced to pay taxes? We examine those questions in detail.
