As for curbing black money and corruption, such process did not begin or end with demonetisation, or bringing black money stashed abroad to avoid taxes. Black money continues to rule the roost with subdued public display of consumerism. Attorney General, in his deposition before the Supreme Court, had stated that about a third of 14.44 lakh crore of high currency notes invalidated would be deposited in banks. However, with the 99 percent of the cancelled note returned to the banks as per the Reserve Bank of India report, a question mark over unearthing black money remains unanswered. While the black money remains undetected, the hyped propaganda about it benefited BJP in elections on the mesmerized public perception that the poor would be benefited immensely out of such measures.

According to the Ministry of Finance, without demonetisation, India would have some 18 lakh crore high value currencies, whereas it has 12.5 lakh crore in the system, thus reducing potential black money. As for curbing the counterfeit currency notes, there was a marginal step-up to 0.08 percent from 0.07 per cent earlier, according to official sources. More importantly, the Reserve Bank of India has not been able to protect its new notes from counter-feiting or counter-feiters as fake versions of 2000 notes have been detected. It is learnt that naxalism, militancy and terrorism went down 45 percent following demonetisation, casualty of security personnel and others, however, went up by 82 per cent. It is also learnt officially that demonetisation widened tax bas, small and medium businesses took a big hit, rendering massive unemployment by such a move.

Short term pains from demonetisation remain prolonged with growing distress of farmers, youth, women, poor and dissatisfaction in small and medium businesses with informal economy badly destroyed. Short term pains remain much more visible than the elusive and much hyped long term gains. No wonder, national economy (GDP) has dipped by over two percent. Current economic scenario indicates national economy sliding further with little hopes for economic turn around in near future.

Demonetisation paid dividends to a vanguard of digital payment providers to achieve temporary cashless transactional economy. However, with the return of 99 percent demonetised currency, cash transaction is back to the pre-demonetisation period. At the same time demonetisation triggered record domestic inflows into mutual funds, gushing into equity market that pushed the key indexes to multiple highs in the market economy. Overall, digital transaction dipped as cash returned to the economy.

Demonetisation also hit ten segments of black economy, such as, politicians, hawala dealers, real estate mafias, fake currency dealers, terrorist organizations, sports betting, educational institutions, fake trusts and charities, rich agricultural land owners and film industry where black money operates largely, claims the Government.

What ever it be, demonetisation together with ill-conceived GST, its highly mismanaged implementation, misplaced priorities like divisive communal politics, hatred, rising intolerance, increasing social tension, minorities/dalit bashing under the one-man NDA Union Government, well known for arbitrary fascistic governance, has taken a toll of the very idea of India as enshrined in the Constitution with little hopes for any reprieve during the remaining one and a half year of PM Modi Government. Cumulative actions of the Government, so far, have proved that India’s democracy is only election-centric with no semblance of collective responsibility in a rule of law based consensual democratic governance and people’s sovereignty. Also there is no scrutiny of the Government by media in general, undermining freedom of the press. All hopes for regeneration of India, promised by PM Modi during 2014 General Elections, stand dashed with little chances for recovery!