Cashless not possible, aim for 'taxless' economy: Demonetisation man Bokil

Anil Bokil, the man who had proposed the demonetisation idea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is averse to use the word to describe the exercise; he prefers to call it 'note ban'

He is credited with pitching to Prime Minister Narendra Modi an idea that would lead to the government’s decision to revoke the legal tender status of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes from the midnight of November 8, 2016, rendering worthless as much as 86 per cent of currency in circulation at the time. A year and much economic disruption later, Anil Bokil tells Anulekha Ray in an interview that calling the exercise ‘demonetisation’ would not be entirely correct. Since it pertained only to currency or cash, ‘note ban’ would be a better expression, he explains. Edited excerpts:

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