Four years on

Even with hindsight, hard to say demonetisation was a success

It has been four years now since Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on national television to declare that currency notes of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations would cease to be legal tender overnight. In these years, demonetisation has ceased to be a major subject of discussion. However, it is fair to say that demonetisation remains a controversial policy intervention and its benefits, if any, are even with hindsight hard to discern. This did not stop Mr Modi from tweeting in support of the move on Monday. The prime minister gave three broad areas in which demonetisation had been