Organizational CaseClaim Cited
India's 2016 demonetization
On 8 November 2016, India's government withdrew the legal-tender status of its two largest banknote denominations with only hours of public notice, seeking to attack unaccounted wealth, counterfeit currency, and illicit finance. The government said secrecy was essential and that many public implementers were being informed during the announcement; the resulting currency shortage imposed exceptional institutional workloads and locally documented costs on cash-dependent workers and households, while nearly all invalidated notes ultimately returned to the banking system.
Can a state preserve the surprise needed for a monetary shock while still testing operational capacity and protecting people who depend on the medium it withdraws?