Rs 500, Rs 1000 to be illegal starting midnight; ‘surgical strike on black money’

Rs 500, Rs 1000 to be illegal starting midnight; ‘surgical strike on black money’

In a major step to check black money, the prime minister announced demonetization of Rs 500 and 100 currency notes with effect from midnight, making these notes invalid in a major assault on black money, fake currency and corruption. In his televised address to the nation, Modi said people holding notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 can deposit the same in their bank and post office accounts from November 10 till December 30.
Modi said the notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 “will not be legal tender from midnight tonight” and these will be “just worthless piece of paper.” However, he said that all notes in lower denomination of Rs 100, Rs 50, Rs 20, Rs 10, Rs 5, Rs 2 and Re 1 and all coins will continue to be valid. He also announced that new notes of Rs 2000 and Rs 500 will be introduced.

Modi added that there will be no change in any other form of currency exchange be it cheque, DD, payment via credit or debit cards etc.
He said the government has been fighting the menace of black money and corruption ever since it assumed power two years ago. He also urged people to help government in its fight against fake currency and black money.
The prime minister expressed confidence that the staff of banks and post offices will rise to the occasion to introduce the new order within the available time. He said he is hopeful that political parties, workers, social organisations and the media will go further than the government in making it a success.


In what can be seen as an unprecedented move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a special address to the nation, he anonounced that currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations will be illegal starting 12 midnight on November 8. That is not even four hours after the surprising announcement was made.
“Currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 will be just paper with no value,” Modi said.
The move comes as a strike against the haording of black money. “A few people are spreading corruption for their own benefit,” he said, adding that “corruption and black money is (sic) something we have fought for immediately after assuming office…There is a time when you realise that you have bring some changes in society, and this is our time to feel the same.” It was then that he announced that the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will be deemed illegal starting midnight.
The news comes days after Twitter was buzzing with photos of bundles of currency notes of Rs 2,000 that were being shared with the idea that the Reserve Bank of India might be issuing them into the market soon. Quite obviously, given the PM’s announcement today, that is probably not a possibility any more.
The announcement was met with immediate shock and confusion across social media, with people tweeting out their confusion at the sudden step. Most people wanted to know why this step was take, while others lauded the PM’s effort to counter black money hoarding and corruption. Some even proposed ‘auctioning’ their ‘rare collectors Rs 500 note from 2016 AD Modi era for Rs 10,000’.