On the night of 8 November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shocked the nation with the announcement that all notes of the denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would not be legal tender after four hours. This sudden war on black money surprised and shocked the nation.
While everyone was caught up with the inconveniences of the sudden decision by the Prime Minister, Firstpost identified one organisation whose idea for cleansing India of black money matches the plan announced by the Prime Minister.
According to the report by Firstpost the name of the organization is ArthaKranti. The mission of this Pune–based think-tank consisting of technocrats and chartered accountants is Financial/economic revolution, as the name suggests. ArthaKranti claims that it had made the proposal of abolishing the currency notes of larger denomination along with four other proposals to the prime minister even before he assumed office in 2014.
According to a newsletter published on its website on 9 September, “Anil Bokil, one of the key members of Arthakranti Sansthan was given time to share (their plan for wiping out black money —ed) to Modi. He was given nine minutes for sharing but Modi heard him for two hours”. ArthaKranti says it made five proposals and defines them as “well-researched scientific approaches designed to completely transform the current Indian socio-economic scenario. This approach will enable ‘Principled, Prosperous and Peaceful living’ for all citizens of our country”
“The five-point ArthaKranti Proposal came into being in 1999. It is worth noting that in 1999, Rs 1,000 notes did not exist. They came into circulation in 2001 and today account for 38% (by value) of all currency money,” said Amod Phalke, a mechanical engineer and one of the members of ArthaKranti, reported Firstpost.
