Overnight, currency notes with the denominations of Rs. 1,000 ($14 approx.) and Rs.500 ($7 approx.) that comprised 86 per cent of the total currency circulation in India, were declared invalid.
Although Prime Minister Modi said the decision aimed to counter terror funding and black money in the country, for a significant amount of time, people in the country struggled with their day-to-day lives because ATMs struggled to dispense the new currency, and over-crowded banks and inadequate currency notes of smaller denominations made cash-transactions quite challenging for common people.
Friday marks the 3rd anniversary of the government’s demonetisation decision, netizens took to social media to timeline and discuss how the resolution actually impacted India's current financial situation.
While some people believe the "bold" decision displayed foresight and was for the best, others have attacked Prime Minister Modi, blaming him for the ongoing economic slump in the country.
While Modi aims to make India a $5 Trillion economy by 2025, India’s GDP growth is currently recorded as the slowest in over six years.
Hashtags on the subject including -- #BlackDay, #आओ_मोदी_चौराहे_पर, #DeMonetisationDisaster, #NotebandiSeMandiTak, #Demonetisation and #3YearsOfDeMoDisaster are trending with over 3,500, 226,000, 590,000, 245,000 and 15,000 tweet mentions respectively in India.
Citing a recent survey by citizen engagement platform LocalCircles, media reported that 66 per cent of respondents voted against demonetisation, saying it had a negative impact on the economy, labour and employment especially in unorganised sectors.
In a lighter vein, some netizens wished the new colourful Indian currency notes that came into existence post-demonetisation a #HappyBirthday.
Others made it a point to note that it was because of demonetisation that India finally moved to digital payments for day-to-day financial transactions.
From close to 1.5 million digital payment acceptance locations in 2016-17, the number of Indian merchants accepting digital payment modes has increased to over 10 million in three years, “Fintech in India - Powering mobile payments” had said earlier in August.
With a population of over 1.7 billion, there was a percentage of Indians who praised Prime Minister Modi's bold decision intended to curb the terror and black money engulfing the country.