“Withdrawing ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes will 'break the grip of corruption and black money' and strengthen the fight against fake currency and terrorism”

In his address to the nation on 8 November 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes 'to break the grip of corruption and black money', saying the notes 'hoarded by anti-national and anti-social elements will become just worthless pieces of paper'. The RBI reported in August 2017 that 98.96% of the demonetised notes had been deposited with banks. Then finance minister Arun Jaitley said the deposit of even black money into banks was evidence of success; Justice BV Nagarathna, who dissented in the 2023 Supreme Court ruling, said in 2024 it was 'a good way of making black money white money'.

“To break the grip of corruption and black money, we have decided that the five hundred rupee and thousand rupee currency notes presently in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight tonight, that is 8th November 2016.”

1. 31 Mar 2024 ·ScrollVerified source
   Demonetisation was a way of converting black money into white: Justice BV Nagarathna ↗
2. 18 Nov 2024 ·Business StandardVerified source
   Did demonetisation hit the right notes? Evaluating its impact 8 years later ↗
3. WikipediaVerified source
   2016 Indian banknote demonetisation ↗
4. The Hindu
   99.3% of demonetised currency returned: RBI ↗

   The Reserve Bank of India annual report confirmed that 99.3% of the demonetised ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes were returned to the banking system.