Unlike Salman Khan in Wanted — Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di, toh phir main khud ki bhi nahin sunta — the Government and the RBI apparently have no qualms going back on their word. They have tweaked or abandoned many of the promises made when demonetisation was announced, merrily making rules as they go along. This has only confounded the confusion, inconvenience and anger caused by shoddy execution of the exercise.

Exchange of old notes, up to ₹4,000 a person, was to be allowed until November 24, after which the limit was to be reviewed. But within days, the limit was increased to ₹4,500, reduced to ₹2,000 and then completely withdrawn. The interim bright idea of indelible ink to keep away repeat withdrawers did not work. Now, the exchange is allowed only at the RBI. This will only drive the poor without bank accounts to give up their hard-earned money at a discount — to unscrupulous elements, of course.

The permissible withdrawals from Jan Dhan accounts have been reduced sharply to ₹10,000 per month, again sparked by concerns on the misuse of the accounts to deposit black money. But surely it hurts those poor who deposited their genuine earnings, exceeding Rs 10,000, in these accounts. The increase in withdrawals from ATMS, fixed for ₹4,000 from November 19 onward, is still to materialise. It’s another matter than several ATMs across the country are still being recalibrated and are out of cash.

Add to this list of goof-ups the move to allow the use of old ₹500 notes at petrol pumps and airports only till December 2, as against the earlier extended deadline of December 15. Did the powers-that-be come across money-laundering here too? Surely this will impact commuters and transport operators. This plug-the-leaks-as-they-come approach only highlights the lack of preparation. It also dents the credibility of the Government and the RBI. What can we expect next?

Senior Assistant Editor

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