Note ban: PM Modi silent on gains, hints pain may last little longer

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a well-attended public rally in Kanpur, the precursor to what many expect to be his game changing rally in Lucknow on January 2. The Lucknow public rally will come at the end of his promised 50 days of “pain” of note ban.

He had earlier promised that days of pain would lead to “gain” for the public. However, the PM on Monday seemed to be suggesting that the pain might last a little bit longer, and he didn’t for once utter the word “gain” in nearly an hour long speech, and exhorted people to be willing to suffer inconveniences for a few more days for a brighter future of the country.
The PM railed against the Opposition for not letting Parliament function, for obstructing his fight against black money and corruption and for lying and trying to mislead people. Modi said India, post-Demonetisation, was divided into two halves – a small minority of politicians trying to protect black money, corruption and dishonesty, and the other half comprising the hardworking and honest poor and middle classes of the country who are fighting this battle to reclaim their right.(Read More)

I-T raids Axis bank in Noida, finds Rs 60 cr in 20 shell company accounts

On a trail of a jeweller who allegedly sold bullion worth Rs 600 crore, the Income Tax Department on Thursday unearthed Rs 60 crore from the accounts of 20 shell companies in a raid at an Axis bank branch at sector 51 in Noida.

A team of the department on Thursday raided the Axis bank branch in Noida and searched the accounts.

In the search, Rs 60 crores were found in 20 accounts of as many shell companies, an official said, adding that the I-T team was scanning the records to trace the directors of these companies.

An I-T team had earlier found that a jeweller in Noida had sold gold bricks worth Rs 600 crore after demonetisation and has accounts in the same branch of the bank.

The jeweller's name has not been disclosed by the officials yet.(http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/i-t-raids-axis-bank-finds-rs-60-cr-in-accounts-of-shell-116121500585_1.html)

Hurry! Your old Rs 500 notes won't be accepted outside banks after midnight tonight

The deadline to use the old Rs 500 note will end today at midnight. The Narendra Modi government had announced a series of exemptions where the old Rs 500 could be used.

From December 15 midnight onwards, the old Rs 500 note can only be deposited in bank accounts till December 30.

While the government had earlier disallowed the usage of Rs 1,000 notes, the government had allowed the usage of old Rs 500 notes till December 15 midnight.

The deadline was extended twice and when the last one was to expire on November 24, it amended it to state that only the old Rs 500 rupee could be used for payment of utility bills like electricity and water, school fees, pre-paid mobile top-up.

"Exemptions for use of old Rs 500 notes will end on December 15 midnight," Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das tweeted.(read more)

PM Modi reviews note ban, discusses ways of digitisation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday reviewed his decision to demonetise Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes with his Cabinet colleagues and discussed ways to fast track digitisation to enable larger cashless transactions.

The Prime Minister initiated the discussion on the move, which was announced last month, with the ministers after the meeting of the Union Cabinet ended here this evening.

As it was not on the agenda, the issue was taken up after the Cabinet meeting was over.

The meeting assumes importance with the Centre's deadline of December 30, wherein people can deposit the old notes, nears, as the government pushes for improving digitisation to enable a larger number of cashlesstransactions through various means.(read more)

Rs 70 cr cash, 170 kg gold seized at airports in India post note ban

Over Rs 70 crore in cash, in both old and new notes, and more than 170 kg gold have been seized from passengers at various airports of the country after demonetisation, Director General of CISF O P Singh said on Wednesday.

"We have seized more than Rs 70 crore of cash. More than 170 kilograms of gold has been attended to since the demonetisation, at various airports across the country," Singh told a press conference.

Asked if the cash seized consisted of the new currency notes, he said, "They were a mix of both, but mostly new notes".

The seizures were made as CISF has a commitment to the country and has to realise dreams of the government, he added.

The seizures were made by various agencies after the CISF provided them tip-offs about the passengers carrying cash and gold.(read more)

Data crunching: Why Modi's 50-day deadline for re-monetisation will fail

We are 17 days away from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 50-day deadline to end the worst effects of the scrapping of 86%–by value–of India’s currency. In the chest-thumping, hand-wringing and controversy that has ensued since the announcement on November 8, 2016, there has been an absence of facts on the question of re-monetising India.

An extrapolation of 2016 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) dataon the capacity of Indian printing presses and currency distribution indicates that, at current rates, the Prime Minister’s deadline will not be met. Getting adequate money to banks and ATMs nationwide will depend on how many bank notes the government wants to put back into circulation.

If the government wants to introduce Rs 9 lakh crore ($135 billion)–or 35% less money than it pulled out–it will take up to May 2017, and if it wants to reintroduce the entire Rs 14 lakh crore ($210 billion) that it withdrew, that could take up to August 2017.(readmoreData crunching: Why Modi's 50-day deadline for re-monetisation will fail)

Hawala operator arrested in Karnataka, CBI seize Rs 5.70 cr in new Rs 200 notes

CBI today arrested an alleged hawala operator K V Veerendra in connection with seizure of Rs 5.70 crore of new currency notes of Rs 2000 denomination from his premises in Karanataka.

The agency sources said CBI has registered a case against officials of four banks--State Bank of India, State Bank of Mysore, ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

They said Veerendra was produced before Special courtin Bengaluru which has sent him to six days of CBIcustody for questioning.(read more)