December 30, the last day of Demonetisation, is the last day to deposit the old scrapped Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes in banks. From January, anyone holding the demonetised notes can deposit them only in the Reserve Bank of India. This facility is available only until March 31, 2017.
According to an ordinance passed by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, all the demonetised notes will be illegal after March 31, and anyone still possessing these will have to pay heavy fines and also can be arrested. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to deliver a speech on this issue after a self imposed deadline of fifty days of Demonetisation.
While many were hoping that the Centre would extend the deadline by a few more days, the government stuck to the announced deadline of December 30. After announcing Demonetisation on November 8, Narendra Modi gave his first interview, in which he announced that the country was at a “Watershed moment” and the move of Demonetisation of removing 86% of the currency in circulation was to clean India from “All forms of filth.”
The Prime minister added “The revenue collected will be used for the welfare of the poor, downtrodden and the marginalized.” He also said that with Demonetisation, all the black money held by Maoists, terrorists, and traffickers “has been Neutralized.” It also has brought all the black money into the light.
The Prime Minister is all set to address the nation on Saturday after Demonetisation. He has kept silent all these days and has not answered many questions in the Parliament’s Winter session which he attended rarely and was adjourned Sine Die amid disruptions.
