Demonetisation: Forget PM Modi, blame RBI's execution

One of the bravest moment in the current political scenario in the country came when PM Narendra Modi announced demonetisation that converted 86% currency in circulation into paper. If we leave aside the economic distress, financial difficulty, and mass inconvenience it caused, and talk about the political movement post this announcement, then PM Modi took a lot of flak for this move and its poor implementation. 

The 50 days window is over, and the situation is far from normal as ATMs are still empty and remonetisation will need a good amount of time. The fourth quarter of 2016 has already taken a beating, and it seems the first quarter of this year will also see a financial setback in the Indian economy. 

But, is it only PM Modi and the central government that should be blamed for the poor implementation? 

Constitutionally, it is the Reserve Bank of India that is responsible for managing currency in India. Though, the decision to demonetisation the high-value currency notes can be seen as a political decision but the implementation has to be facilitated by the RBI which is not a political institution. 

In terms of implementation of demonetisation and subsequent, remonetisation, the RBI not only failed to advise the government but also failed miserably to make the transition smooth and less inconvenient for people. 

RBI issued multiple notifications confusing masses as well as banks, refused to give reasons for demonetisation under the Right to Information Act, failed to give a realistic estimation as to when the Indian economy will be remonetised and overall, failed to give clarity on the cashless situation. 

RBI is the bankers' bank that is an independent, autonomous body and does not have any political affiliation, aspiration, or limitations and one of its many functions is to give appropriate insights, data, and advice to the central government for understanding the intricacies and difficulties of demonetisation and its implementation. 

Seeing the aftermath of demonetisation, in terms of recovery of black money, IT Act amendment and possible long-term impact on various important sectors of India's economy, this is a masterstroke by PM Modi. However, it is RBI that failed to implement this scheme efficiently. 

• Demonetisation
• Demontization
• PM Modi
• RBI
• PM Narendra Modi
• Currency ban