In November, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Urjit Patel, said there was a ‘confluence of thought’ in the government and the central bank to deal with black money by removing existing Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes as legal tender. Now, just about ten days before the deadline to deposit these bank notes into accounts, a similar confluence of ideas has led to a stunning decision to make it harder for people to do so. The new caveats, announced on Monday, restricting deposits over Rs.5,000 (roughly $70) are not just difficult to fathom but also constitute an unfair change in the rules of the game. Those opting to disclose unaccounted income under the new amnesty scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, face no restriction on depositing old notes. But anyone depositing Rs.5,000 or more into a bank account will have to satisfactorily explain to two bank officials why this was not done earlier. However, the Finance Minister has suggested that such explanations will not be required for anyone making a deposit for the first time. Apart from the human tendency to act only when a deadline nears, there could be genuine reasons for people not to have queued up at banks till now - including their faith in the Prime Minister, as well as the Finance Minister’s statements that they had till December 30 to do so.
Overstretched bankers may somehow cope with this latest diktat. But implementation is likely to be arbitrary as each bank branch may come up with its own ground rules, just as they are doing in the case of cash withdrawal limits. Nevertheless, tasking them to record and flag for audit purposes deposits amounting to just 1.66 per cent of the personal income tax threshold is tantamount to outsourcing the taxman’s job to the banker for no ostensible revenue pay-off. Initially, the Centre said deposits up to Rs.2.5 lakh would not be questioned, but later held that all deposits could be scrutinised — even though the Income Tax Department will struggle to complete scrutiny of lakhs of accounts within the legally stipulated two-year deadline. The Prime Minister had said exchange limits for old notes would be enhanced from November 25; instead, the exchange facility was stopped altogether. By December 10, Rs.12.44 lakh crore, or 80 per cent of the old notes, was back in the system, and by December 30 most, if not all, could well return. Perhaps spooked by that prospect, the Finance Ministry suggested that double counting may have skewed the numbers, but bankers have dismissed that possibility. The latest flip-flop to make deposits difficult appears to suggest that the government is itself in panic mode over its bold gambit.
Source :The Hindu
IMPORTANT WORDS FROM ARTICLE & THEIR MEANING
1. Fathom (verb) (गहराई
नापना) – understand (a difficult problem or an enigmatic person)
after much thought
Synonyms – appreciate, comprehend
Antonyms – misinterpret, estimate
Ex: Since I
have always done my work, I cannot fathom why my boss just fired me.
2. Amnesty (noun) (आम माफ़ी)– an official pardon for people who have been convicted
of political offences
Synonyms – forgiveness, immunity
Ex: The
president upset millions of voters when he announced a plan to offer amnesty to illegal immigrants so they could
become citizens.
3. Arbitrary (adjective) (विवेकाधीन)– based on
random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system
Synonyms – erratic, capricious
Antonyms – consistent, regular
Ex: In spite
of the cold weather, we made an arbitrary trip to the beach.
4. Tantamount (adjective) (समान)– equivalent
in seriousness to, virtually the same as
Synonyms – identical, equal
Antonyms – different, opposite
Ex: To leave
a dog in a hot car is tantamount to torture.
5. Ostensible (adjective) (काल्पनिक) –
stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so
Synonyms – plausible, illusive
Antonyms – obscure, vague
Ex: While the ostensible destination of our trip sounded
appealing, I was dreading the long drive it would take to get there.
6. Scrutinised (verb) (छानबीन)– examine or
inspect closely and thoroughly
Synonyms – analyze, check
Antonyms – forget, ignore
Ex: Do not
sign your name on any document you have not had time to scrutinize!
7. Stipulated (verb) (निर्धारित) –
demand or specify (a requirement), typically as part of an agreement
Synonyms – designate, impose
Antonyms – break, disagree
Ex: The
owners may stipulate a huge deposit as a condition of the
purchase agreement.
8. Skewed (verb) (विषम) –
suddenly change direction or position
Synonyms – alter, bias
Antonyms – maintain, straighten
Ex: A skew determinant is one which is skew symmetric in all respects.
9. Gambit (noun) (किसी काम प्रारंठया प्रारंà¤िक कार्यवाही) – an act or remark that is calculated to gain an
advantage, especially at the outset of a situation
Synonyms – artifice, device
Antonyms – frankness, honesty
Ex: Once
again my sister got a free lunch by performing her gambit of leaving her purse at home.
