The Cinderella Notes

"On the stroke of twelve, the spell will be broken, and everything will be as it was before" - Fairy Godmother, Cinderella (1950 film) At least Cinderella had fair warning. India's 1000 and 500 rupee notes weren't given any. On the evening of November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went on national television to announce his government's decision to demonetize the specified bank notes. His countrymen were given four hours notice to prepare themselves for the demise of the notes that accounted for 86% of the country's currency in value. The objective of the mission was to purge the economy of black (unaccounted) money and counterfeit currency, both considered serious threats to the country's security and stability. The scale of the mission was massive given that the Indian economy has been predominantly cash driven with a significantly sized flourishing shadow economy. While the act of demonetization with multiple objectives is laudatory, it needs to be supplemented by an avalanche of backup measures to yield true benefits. The author, Ramesh S Arunachalam, a financial sector professional, offers practical prescriptions based on his three decades of work experience across India at the grassroots and also in macro-level policy and planning. He adopts a sector wise approach, evaluating prevailing realities and making practical recommendations. How prepared are we for the great digital switch? Is our infrastructure robust enough? Are the vast majority of our people sufficiently conversant with technology and process? How do we guard against attendant risks that technology brings? Written in simple, conversational style, the book deconstructs and demystifies concepts and theories, making it a worthy read even for an audience uninitiated into the complex world of economics and finance.