In November 2016 the Indian government suddenly cancelled currency notes of RS 500 and 1000. Whatever the pros and cons that is not the main issue of my letter. We are all relieved and rather happy that inspite of the turmoil in the market at that time the Indian GDP was growing very well.
My husband Nitin and myself are professionals who were both born in East Africa and have now settled in the UK and are extremely proud of our Indian heritage.
Recentless in our group discussion this matter of cancelled currency was an important subject. For various reasons overseas Indians travel to india in large October 2015 and September 2016 possibly a total of one million overseas Indians had been to India from various countries. Most of them would have been intending to go back to India. Conseqently for ease of immediate transactions they would have been carrying Indian currency per head on average of about £50-100 - after all passangers who were going abroad were allowed to carry Indian currency of up to about RS 25,000 per head. In my family alone we would have had about £100 worth of Indian cancelled currency in our possession.
Potentially the million or more overseas Indians would be carrying a very substantial amount which is right now after all not worth the paper its been printed on.
We believe that authorities in India could have organised that vast sums of money to be put aside for better use through say a charitable cause approved by the Indian government with the necessary protocols to help ensure clarity.
This money could then have been deposited with Indian banks abroad with proper checks and procedures having been put in place. After all when the currency as at now is useless we would have been agreeable to have it donated towards worthwhile causes such as the betterment of deprived Indians through some human service activity.
Dear editor, we write to you believing that you have some contacts within the government which would listen to this subject as a matter of urgency and develop an appropriate strategy to involve overseas Indians for which we hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi always expressing strong sentiments.
I would urge other readers to engage with this humble suggestion and express their opinions through the “Readers’ Voice” section of Asian Voice as a matter or urgency.
Mira and Nitin Patel
Edgware, Middlesex
