Politics is always about hitting two birds with one stone. That's what NaMo has done by way of introducing Rs 2,000 currency notes in lieu of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes.
After the inevitable initial hiccup, the making of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 bank notes illegal may have a salutary impact on the Indian economy. The real rate of growth of gross domestic product (GDP), which was not mirrored earlier in the official statistics because of a large part of it being part of informal, subterranean economy, may after a lag effect of six months start reflecting in the first financial quarter April-June 2017. According to a rough calculation by Indianmandarins, the Q1FY18 GDP may escalate to 9-10 percent, if not more, from the current 7 percent.
Apart from boosting the economy, the move may also deliver a deadly blow to NaMo's political opponents in UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Goa where state assembly elections are due early next year. The UP Assembly with its 404 seats is far more important for the BJP to win to ensure that its representation in the Rajya Sabha improves next year. It's also important for the BSP and SP for political survival. It is generally believed that the anti-Hindutva lobby has mobilized huge resources in cash for the forthcoming UP elections. Now that money is not worth even pennies.
The irony is that even though Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav might have been delivered a deadly blow through the making of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes illegal, they can't really grumble or complain. They have to suffer the blow silently and stoically. The same applies to the Congress in Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Goa, as also to the perpetual agitators AAP.
(By M K Shukla & Rakesh Ranjan)
Quick Take: Hitting two birds with one stone
By IndianMandarins - 2016-11-11 10:30:36
Politics is always about hitting two birds with one stone. That's what NaMo has done by way of introducing Rs 2,000 currency notes in lieu of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes.
After the inevitable initial hiccup, the making of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 bank notes illegal may have a salutary impact on the Indian economy. The real rate of growth of gross domestic product (GDP), which was not mirrored earlier in the official statistics because of a large part of it being part of informal, subterranean economy, may after a lag effect of six months start reflecting in the first financial quarter April-June 2017. According to a rough calculation by Indianmandarins, the Q1FY18 GDP may escalate to 9-10 percent, if not more, from the current 7 percent.
Apart from boosting the economy, the move may also deliver a deadly blow to NaMo's political opponents in UP, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Goa where state assembly elections are due early next year. The UP Assembly with its 404 seats is far more important for the BJP to win to ensure that its representation in the Rajya Sabha improves next year. It's also important for the BSP and SP for political survival. It is generally believed that the anti-Hindutva lobby has mobilized huge resources in cash for the forthcoming UP elections. Now that money is not worth even pennies.
The irony is that even though Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav might have been delivered a deadly blow through the making of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes illegal, they can't really grumble or complain. They have to suffer the blow silently and stoically. The same applies to the Congress in Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Goa, as also to the perpetual agitators AAP.
(By M K Shukla & Rakesh Ranjan)
