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MUMBAI, India — In one of the most audacious experiments in India ’s modern history, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi banned the two largest bills — of 500 rupees, or about $7.50, and 1,000 rupees — which account for about 86 percent of the currency in a country where 78 percent of financial transactions are done in cash.
Under the plan, people are allowed to
exchange the old bills for new ones of 500 and 2,000 rupees, but only at banks or post offices, where their exchanges will be monitored and anyone with a large amount of cash will have to explain its source. The changes, meant to combat corruption and tax avoidance, have thrown the country into chaos. Here are answers to a few basic questions about the changes.
Why did the government remove the bills from circulation?
The idea was to expose and penalize people holding huge amounts of cash they could not account for, primarily money on which taxes have not been paid. Most of the so-called black money is held in 500- and 1,000-rupee notes. Someone who goes to a bank or post office with more than 250,000 rupees in cash, or about $3,700, has to explain the source of the money to the tax authorities.
People who can explain how they earned the money and show that taxes were paid can keep it. But those without a good explanation will have to answer to the tax authorities.
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