Demonetisation anniversary: Defensive Modi govt launches big social media offensive

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Nov 07, 2017 : As the ruling BJP and the Opposition jar over the impact of demonetisation, the Narendra Modi government has launched a major offensive to extol the positive impacts of note ban. Today, a day ahead of the first anniversary of demonetisation, the government posted a series of tweets with the hashtag ’DeMOWins’ to explain the manner in which the initiative proved to be a boon.

 

The Modi government’s Twitter handle @MyGovIndia posted several cards to claim demonetisation’s multi-dimensional success. It said demonetisation was India’s highest-ever unearthing of black money and it led to a decisive blow to terrorism and Naxalism.

The posts further said that India’s financial system was being cleansed due to demonetisation. There has been an immense increase in formalisation, leading to better jobs for the poor, it said.

The government also claimed that unprecedented increase in formalisation had led to better jobs for the poor. Digital payments have received a significant boost. The move has accrued multiple benefits to the people. Loans have got cheaper and municipalities have received increased revenues post demonetisation.


The government reiterated that demonetisation was the country’s biggest-ever measure to unearth black money. It claimed that as many as 17.73 lakh suspicious cases had been identified where cash deposits do not match the tax profile.

Moreover, an amount of Rs 3.68 lakh crore in 23.22 lakh bank accounts is under the scanner. More than 4.7 lakh additional suspicious transactions have been reported by banks and financial institutions.

The government has reiterated that Rs 16,000 crore did not come back to the banks after demonetisation. Undisclosed income worth Rs 29,213 crore has been detected and admitted. Besides, benami assets worth Rs 1,626 crore have been seized and attached.

The government said just 0.00011 per cent of India’s population deposited almost 33 per cent of the total cash in the country. The estimated value of high denomination notes at the end of September 2017 was approximately Rs 12 lakh crore.

Without demonetisation, the values of high denomination notes would have been around Rs 18 lakh crore today. Thus, the high denomination notes have been effectively brought down by about 6 lakh crore, which is 50 per cent of the current value of high denomination notes in circulation.

The government reiterated that decreased proportion of high denomination notes in the economy helped thwart corruption and funding of terrorism.


Calling demonetisation a major victory, the government said that the step had provided a huge push towards formalisation and ensured better jobs for the poor. Among the related measures, it said Payment of Wages Act had been amended. As a result, payment is being made directly in bank accounts of wage labourers.

Moreover, 50 lakh new bank accounts had been opened, enabling cashless transactions of wages. Over 1 crore additional employees had enrolled with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), 1.3 crore workers had been registered with Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and social security and health benefits had been made available for all.



The government said that there had been an unprecedented increase in tax compliance after demonetisation. The number of new taxpayers was 66.53 lakhs in 2016-16. It jumped by 26.6 per cent to 84.21 lakh in 2016-17.

Moreover, the number of e-returns filed in 2016-17 was 2.35 crore. It increased by 27.95 per cent to 3.01 crore in 2017-18.



he MyGovIndia handle retweeted a post by Health Minister JP Nadda that said digital payments had received a significant boost.

Talking about Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) transactions, it said that in terms of value, they were Rs 26,849 crore in August 2016. The transactions jumped by 59 per cent to Rs 65,149 crore in August 2017.

As far as transactions in terms of volume are concerned, the amount was Rs 3.39 crore in August 2016. They shot up by 55 per cent to Rs 7.57 crore a year later.

Besides these posts and cards on Twitter, there is a pinned tweet on the government’s official handle. It says, "As we approach a year since November 8, 2016, let us highlight the fight against black money in creative ways."

Exhorting people to combat corruption and help in the crackdown against black money, the government has invited essays, artworks, videos and poems on the issue. The winners will get cash prizes, the government’s official Twitter handle says. The last date for submission of all these creative projects is November 30.


"May the fight against corruption and black money keep winning great victories!", the government said.

In one of the videos, you can see an actor essaying the role of a terrorist, who is angry that demonetisation has stopped the inflow of cash into the anti-India campaign in Kashmir. The government says stone-pelting incidents have come down by 75 per cent in Kashmir and Naxal activities have reduced by 25 per cent, thanks to demonetisation.

In another video, you can see a frustrated politician, hoarding black money, mock the government’s drive that the latter claims has brought back 99 per cent of the currency in the economy back into the banking system. Post demonetisation, the Centre has cracked down, it says, on 2.25 lakh shell companies.

Meanwhile, speaking at the India Today Conclave Next 2017 on Tuesday, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the adverse effects of demonetisation were behind us.

He elaborated, "Ultimately, every structural reform will have some consequences but they help the economy in the long run. If you don’t have the capacity to undertake those reforms, the status quo would’ve continued. If it costs you a step back for a quarter or two, is it too big a cost to pay?"

Jaitley added that the only option the UPA offered to demonetisation was policy paralysis. He said a country that aspires to be a developed nation can’t be cash-dependent and allow the status quo to continue.

The BJP plans to organise a nation-wide Anti-Black Money Day programme tomorrow in the face of the Opposition’s ’Black Day’ campaign.


courtesy:Yahoo