‘Scrap ₹500 notes’: Why Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu wants ₹200 to be the highest denomination of Indian currency

N Chandrababu Naidu urged India to scrap high-value currency notes and retain ₹100 and ₹200 notes, arguing that digital transactions could help tackle corruption. His call came as opposition leaders questioned results of demonetisation, introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a decade ago.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday called for the scrapping of high-value currency notes in India. According to Naidu, currency notes of ₹500 denomination should be crapped and only notes of ₹100 and ₹200 denominations should be retained.

The Andhra CM also claimed that he had made same demand in his digital currency report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chandrababu Naidu.

What Chandrababu Naidu said

“I will keep speaking on this. The notes of ₹500, ₹1,000 and Rs. 2,000 should be scrapped. Only notes of ₹100 and ₹200 should be retained,” he said.

Explaining the logic, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo said curbing high-value cash and promoting digital transactions can help tackle corruption.

“If technology is perfect, wealth creation and poverty alleviation are not difficult,” he said.

10th anniversary of demonetisation

Naidu’s comments came a day after the 10th anniversary of demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Modi, who, in a late-evening address to the nation, announced that high-value currency notes of ₹500 and ₹1,000 would cease to be legal tender.

The government had outlined several objectives behind the decision, including flushing out black money, eliminating fake Indian currency notes, curbing the financing of terrorism and left-wing extremism, bringing the informal economy into the formal sector, expanding the tax base and employment, and promoting digital payments to make India a less-cash economy, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Opposition questions government on demonetisation

On Sunday, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh criticized demonetisation and shared a media report which claimed that the move was a disaster in 2016 and is a resounding failure 10 years on.

In his post, Ramesh said, "Notebandi devastated the economy. Votebandi is destroying the polity. Both are the contributions of the PM."

On Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray questioned the achievements of demonetisation and asked what the country had gained from the move after 10 years, and whether its stated objectives had been fulfilled.

In a post on X, Thackeray pointed out the absence of advertisements or celebrations marking the decade of demonetisation and questioned whether the government had any achievements to showcase.

"10 years and 1 day of Demonetisation by the bjp. A decade of the decision, and no advertisements on hoardings, newspapers etc? No celebration of any achievements with this move? Or no achievements at all? What were the aims, what has the country achieved from these stated goals?" he wrote.