Dear Editor,
While most people praised the revolutionary demonetisation move by the Government as a first decisive step to curb black money, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel is facing flak for the ill-preparedness prior to making the high-value currencies invalid.
In the demonetised milieu, the RBI chief seems to have lost steam, despite the fact that most believe that it was more of a political decision, and that the idea never originated from the central bank. Had there been a little planning, the RBI could have printed Rs500 and Rs100 notes instead of printing the Rs2,000 notes.
The jury is still out on whether the sudden decision would bring any windfall to the Government. It is to be seen if Patel will survive the storm or be a fall guy.
J Akshay
Bengaluru