Much has been said about Demonetization that I don't want to add to the clutter in the cyber space by restating the obvious. I would rather take a different route.
I know a Real Estate Broker in a Semi Urban Town in South India. A very nice guy, he used to run a small bakery, lost everything, and then became immensely rich by becoming a Real Estate Broker.
A humble man, who is ever helpful, and who has not forgotten his past, he was the king in his business in his Town. The Doctors who wanted to stash away their black money, the NRIs who wanted to pay as little Stamp Duty as possible, other Businessmen who wanted to park their ill gotten wealth flocked to him before. He was trustworthy, and had a select set of loyal clients.
He dealt only in Cash, was a critical cog in the wheel of shady real estate transactions, helped suppress market value, aided buyers in underpricing the land so that they pay less stamp duty, facilitated Cash Transactions with Banking Transactions reduced to a bare minimum which helped the Crooks to route their Black Money. At any point of time you could see him with a Crore or two in liquid cash, and he lived a good life. Every now and then he will take off to a Metro, check in to a 5 Star Hotel and spent lavishly on himself. He also purchased land banks running into acres and hectares. He had no qualms about spending money on food or cars or hotels.
Then Demonetization hit on November 8th mid night 2016. He was made to run from pillar to post to deposit and convert the cash he had on hand. He asked everyone's help to allow him to deposit Rs 2.5 lakhs, the threshold beyond which Income Tax started raising its eyebrows. He asked me also. I flatly refused, though my accounts had limited money, and I had no black money to convert. But nearly 60 others offered him their bank account, and he was able to manage to some extend. He told me later that I was the only one who refused him, but he bears me no grudge. The panic he was in during the initial days of demonetization is difficult to explain.
A year down the line, he still deals in land, but his deal flow has reduced to a trickle. The system has not corrected itself, it is still rotten. But people are not as care free as they were before. The land prices have come down, the black money hoarders are scared as most of them are under the radar of ED and IT.
My Broker friend do not carry cash any more. He is afraid to spend money unnecessarily. The 5 Star hotel jaunts are a thing in the past. He is very conservative with his spending. He is waiting for the day IT swoops on him. He had already started to diversify to Real Estate Projects before demonetization. But now he is having a serious rethink.
He is hunting for people who has White Money, and he just doesn't want to go through the nightmare of last year and the scare he had.
In short, Modi's demonetization has put the Fear of God on him and his rogue Clients.
They are still carrying on their shady land deal but not as brazenly as before.
In short, they got a feeling/fear that their heydays are over.
My friend told me over phone that he has lost interest in amassing wealth, and just want to be on the right side of law as much as possible.
And he is Scared to Death about the impending implementation of Land Passbook and the strict implementation of the Benami Property Act.
HIS EXPERIENCE, to me, is the BIGGEST GAIN from Demonetization.
We are being turned slowly into a Honest Country. It wont happen in 5 or 10 years, but this is a baby step.
Neil Armstrong purportedly said on landing in Moon "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." (Though Technically this is incorrect. Armstrong, maintained afterwards that he actually said something slightly different: "That's one small step for a man...", which gives a totally different meaning).
Demonetization is a "Small Step taken by a Bold Prime Minister, but a Giant Leap in the Country's fight against Black Money and Lawless Economy"
