Another day. Another set of rules (and exemptions) to add to India’s demonetisation woes.
This time, the Narendra Modi government is changing the very rules that it had put in place on 8 November when it announced the scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
Although Modi had initially announced that the old currencies can be exchanged till 30 December – on Thursday, the Finance Ministry issued a fresh bulletin calling off its initial decision and putting an end to over-the-counter exchange of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes after midnight of 24 November.
From 10 November till 24 November, the limit for such exchange will be Rs 4,000. From 25 November till 30 December, the limit will be increased.PM Modi’s 8th November address to the nation
And now...
This wasn’t the only rule that was changed.
A finance ministry statement on 8 November said, “Old high denomination bank notes of aggregate value of Rs 4,000 only or below” could be exchanged, before raising the limit to Rs 4,500. On 17 November, the limit went down to Rs 2,000.
Although old notes can still be used for other purposes like toll payments, prepaid phone bills, etc, people have expressed their rage over the government’s inconsistent planning at a point in time when the country has been flung into a cash crisis.
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