Impact or no impact to Bhutanese individuals and Bhutan economy by recall of old 500 and 1000 rupee notes.

An fb friend sends a message asking  my views to be shared with other fb friends and all on the rupee thing. 

Actually no impact of substance at all to Bhutanese economy. To Bhutanese individuals unless they have been duped in saving fake Indian Rupee denominations of 500 or 1000, again not much of impact except some inconvenience.

I think there is also a real possibility that at a later date, RMA will reimburse to Bhutanese individuals the old notes with new notes courtesy Reserve Bank of India. Save Your Deposit Records.

The Reserve Bank of India and the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan have  a duty to fulfill their mandate and replace to each individual Indian or Bhutanese the old notes with new notes.   Afterall, they had declared in the past those notes to be legal tender. Also these notes,  if genuine notes, bears the committed promise of India. Otherwise people would not have been saving their wealth in the form of those notes. And it is not India as a nation that has gone bankrupt. It is simply a change of tactic by Indian Government to tackle fake notes. So India  is still bound to reimbursing in full and equavalent value any promissory note including the 500 and 1000 rupee old notes.

You may have  read the notice from RMA and I hope readers did not miss the important statement that in 15 days time, RMA may issue further notice on this exchange issue. I hope that the Reserve Bank of India takes the onus of facilitating RMA with the means to reimburse Bhutanese the same amount of rupees surrendered in old notes by new legal notes of rupees 500 and 1000. RMA notice states that all old notes will be surrendered to Reserve Bank of India by 30th December, 2016. So latest by 15 the January, 2017, RMA should physically receive the new rupee notes as replacement from Reserve Bank of India.  I feel those  Bhutanese who surrendered old notes would get new note replacement from RMA quite soon.

I applaud the Government of India especially the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister of India for taking the bold decision to protect their national economy. Fake notes in great quantity can have very unpleasant effect on economy unlike black market or black money. The later two moves economy though tax collection is affected. 

This thing about funding terrorism with fake rupees is rather watery. There must be other very substantial national reasons. A terrorist is a hardened soul but not an immune commercial  fool. Nor can be  those who provide the required terrorism materials. Anyway that is not my concern here.

I am just interested to know  as a Bhutanese how this  Bhutanese Cabinet especially the Finance Minister and Board Directors along with  Governors of the Royal Monetary Authority are going to go about the matter. They cannot claim to have eased the rupee shortage and then colly pocket those 500 and 1000 rupee notes from the depitors in exchange for one 10000 rupee payment and rest in ngultrums. Clowns and Jesters  are laughed at and appreciated only during Tsechu festivals in Bhutan.

I know we Bhutanese will simply walk in hordes to the nearest Bhutanese Banks to surrender such rupee notes if we have them. We  might grumble a little. But we  will never question the Reserve Bank of India, the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan or the Royal Government of Bhutan. Not for lack of courage which ofcourse is in short supply sometimes in real times  but just simple  lack of awareness of implications thereof or nonchalant characteristics about larger issues. 

It is not the people's fault in possessing 500 or 1000 rupee notes considering the low market value of a 100 rupee or ngultrum note. It is also our Government and our RMA which accepts rupee as a legal instrument in everyday business transaction in Bhutan. And that is why Bhutanese would be having rupee notes of 500 and 1000. 

The Embassy of India in Bhutan which represents the Government of India in all matters, thereby,  even Reserve Bank of India and the Bhutanese concerned authorities better come up with satisfactory arrangements in this high denomination issue if they want people to have faith in the close friendships between Bhutan and India. And the  closeness that  the two people share in relationship to rupee transactions in commercial business in Bhutan is to continue.