Promise to pay

Usha Thorat’s article, ‘The dream of a cashless society’ (November 14) lucidly explains several interesting aspects of demonetisation and its impact at various levels of the economy. As rightly pointed out, the action does not impact the RBI’s promise to pay ‘value’ or the sovereign guarantee printed on the currency note. Therefore, legally, it would be wrong to make any adjustment in the RBI’s balance sheet with reference to the quantum of notes surrendered. Such adhocism in accounting practices can lead to erosion of trust in the RBI.

As regards acceptance of ‘demonetized’ currency in public transactions, perhaps it is a misconceptionand needs to be clarified. Extended time limits for certain essential services relate to accountable transactions.

MG Warrier

Mumbai

Praise for bankers

The pain due to demonetisation is because of anxiety and uncertainty. Bank employees, especially in PSBs, have proved themselves through innovative methods to manage the situation and courteous service in spite of personal inconvenience.

The Government should reassure the public that there will be adequate cash for their needs. Also, proper security should be put in place for bank employees since they deal not only with money but with the emotions of the public. This is a chance for bankers to win the good will of the public and take them into confidence.

S Veeraraghavan

Coimbatore

Allow 500s and 1000s

The distribution of notes to replace the demonetised currency appears to be taking more time than probably envisaged. Therefore, the authorities have to urgently review some of the restrictions they had imposed. Is it not possible to differentiate the role of currency as ‘medium of exchange’ from its ‘legal tender’ character? A currency or anything becomes a ‘medium of exchange’ not by fiat but by usage. Legal tender is the feature attributed to a currency for its admissibility for settling debts. Only the legal tender characteristic can be removed by the Government/ RBI. If people are happy to receive and pay using the demonetized notes, the Government should not come in the way. These notes will lose their acceptability as ‘medium of exchange’ automatically on the last day for exchanging these notes.

As the basic moral and ethical issues contributing to black money can be addressed on a sustainable basis only by nurturing values of honesty and patriotism, the menace cannot be resolved by demonetisation alone. Hence, the Government should not treat this as the only chance to reform the nation.

E Madhavan

Thrissur, Kerala

Simple solution

For daily needs, small denomination notes are essential. The poor, especially, don’t have bank accounts and can’t handle ATMs. The solution is to quickly print notes in denominations of ₹400, ₹800, ₹1200, and ₹1600, and put them in circulation.

Vasdev Loond

Email

Raise non-taxable limit

The present limit of ₹2.5 lakh non-taxable deposit should be raised to ₹10 lakh at least for senior citizens and women. This is their capital accumulated throughout their lives..

However, the best course is not to raise any queries as only those who have white capital are depositing in banks.

Mahesh Kumar

New Delhi

Silent workers

While we wholeheartedly praise the efforts of bankers in the Government’s crusade against black money, there are other silent workers also deserving of kudos. On Sunday, a PSB in an industrial area had network connectivity issues in the morning, even as thousands queued up outside.

BSNL, the data cable provider, found that the road had been cut to lay a pipeline without approval from the department concerned. In the process, the BSNL cables had also been cut. BSNL staff immediately got to work in the scorching sun to set matters right. Who says the public sector doesn’t work?

BN Bharath

Bengaluru

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