Author: Pranav Pathak

  • Debate: Scrapping the 500, 1000 rupee notes – Good or bad?

    When I read the news, I didnt believe it at 1st. How could they simply de-recognise bills overnight? What about the money I have?
    Okay, then I read further and saw options:
    – ATMs closed tomorrow (Where do I get the 100s from?)
    – You can get them exchanged in banks starting in a few days with daily and weekly caps (Q: How is this different from me getting notes exchanged when they phased out, eg 2005 series of 100 notes for new notes)
    – you can still use them in Petrol pumps and govt hospitals

    on top of it all, “HOW DOES IT END BLACK MONEY?!”

    And then it hit me. I SMILED, then thought of putting an FB status update.
    This was sheer brilliance!!

    Now lets analyse
    Black money is mostly carried as cash in 500 and 1000 bills. If you have 1 crore as black money, you’d need (7 zeroes divided by 3 zeroes = 4 zeroes) 10,000 Rs 1000 notes. Double that for Rs 500 notes and keep extrapolating because 1 crore is such a paltry sum. People have stashed far more than that!!
    Converting all of that into 100s makes a humongous storage problem and then there’s the problem of exchange too as that entails going to the bank with your PAN in hand..

    Lets analyse other options
    – Get the tanks filled of all your ill gotten Audi’s, BMWs, Mercs and the like. Still “Bhai kitna tel dalwa loge?”
    – Get yourself the best and costliest treatment in a govt hospital. (Fir bhi, bhai kya kya karva loge?”)
    – Go to the bank and get Rs 4000, 10,000… exchanged everyday into 100s (storage problem) or get it deposited in your account by showing a PAN card.

    Let’s say you keep doing that everyday till March 2017 (with project INSIGHT a couple of weeks should be enough to realize a pattern) and suddenly you’ve exchanged either too much money or deposited too big an amount and guess who shall know – “The IT DEPT <without Kejriwal>!!!!”

    Where do you run now? All that stash ain’t gonna help you mate!!

    Isnt this awesome??

    Tonight at the stroke of Midnight hour, a new India awakes!!! and rises!!! And whatever happens in the US, this is a TRiUMPh!!! <no absolutely not supporting him>

    <Let’s discuss>
    Have I got this wrong? Is there something else at play?
    Isn’t printing new money (with the 2000 bill and all) going to make this exercise moot?
    Is a chance missed to bring Black money into the system?

  • [Official] Himachal Daily

    Wise Old Men of Kinnaur

    Kicking off Himachal Daily!

    Is any Pahadi out here who can help?

    A couple of interesting newsbits

    * BRO revamping strategic bridges on war footing
    – The present Bailey bridge at Koksar, is unable to bear heavy load of vehicles.
    – Important as all supplies to the Army personnel deputed on the border areas in Leh-Ladakh are sent from this strategically important route.
    – The two bridges of 70-meter and 30-meter span are to be constructed at Koksar on Chandra river in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti.
    – Will also help localites transport agricultural/horticultural produce

    * SMC develops online app to charge green fee
    – The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) has decided to launch app-based online system for charging green tax from tourists visiting Shimla from September.
    – It has exempted all residents from paying the green fee whose vehicles are not registered in the state.
    – The green fee will generate about Rs 15 crore every year for the SMC
    – The SMC abandoned the plan to set up the green tax barrier
    – SMC will erect bill boards and hoardings at the national highway and entry barrier at Parwanoo to make tourists aware about the green fee
    – Fee being charged in order to facilitate tourists, giving them clean and green Shimla and protect the green environment of Shimla


    Comments from @root

    • – This is the official thread for Himachal’s Current Affairs
    • – The thread is moderated by the owner and his/ her peers from the same state. What to expect here?
    • – State Specific Schemes and Initiatives (helps in GS answers and essays)
    • – Culture related stuff in news (helps you learn the static history part when the festival is celebrated + some additional info)
    • – Unique practices (GI Tags news etc OR some innovative techniques)
    • – Governance initiatives (some case study/ news of in-service officers)
    • – Anything which escapes the national conscience in general due to bias media coverage

    Why do we need separate threads for each state?