India’s demonetization: 10 years on, promises remain unfulfilled

A decade after the 2016 currency ban, its impact on India's economy and the fight against black money remains contested. On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in a televised address to the nation that he was withdrawing all 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes from circulation at midnight. He promised that the hardship would help eliminate black money, corruption, counterfeit currency and terrorist financing.

The exercise was presented as a major step towards a cleaner and more transparent economy. Millions of Indians rushed to banks to exchange their savings. Long queues formed outside banks and ATMs, with people waiting for hours, sometimes without knowing when they would get their money.

Workers missed wages, small businesses struggled to pay employees and families found it difficult to buy everyday essentials. Reports of people dying during the cash crisis added to the distress. "I still remember my domestic help's father," businessman Prakash Patra from Jaipur city told DW.