On the second anniversary of demonetisation, country is still discussing the success or failure of the note ban.

On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a ban on then in use Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denomination bank notes with immediate effect.

Here’s what renowned economists said about demonetisation:

Manmohan Singh: Demonetisation an organised loot and & legalised plunder

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on many ocassions have attacked Narendra Modi government on demonetisation. Singh had said demonetisation was an organised loot and legalised plunder.

He also said the economy is on a "downhill path" because of the "adventure" of demonetisation undertaken last year which was not required at all, either technically or economically.

Singh, a renowned economist considered to be the architect of the reforms of early 1990s, said demonetisation has not been successful in any civilised country, except some of the Latin American nation.

Raghuram Rajan: Demonetisation was not a good idea

Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) former governor Raghuram Rajan has said he had made it quite clear to the government that the demonetisation was "not a good idea" and that its implementation was "not well-planned" since 87.5 per cent of the currency was being demonetised.

Rajan rejected the claim that the RBI had not been consulted by the government before it went ahead with the demonetisation.

He, however, reiterated that the move to cancel 87.5 percent of the currency value was "not a good idea".

Gita Gopinath: Demonetisation was not a good idea

The newly-appointed chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, Gita Gopinath, in an interview to Business Standard in 2017, said demonetisation was not a good idea.

“I don’t think I know a single macro economist who thinks that this was a good idea. And, it’s not something I think should be done for a country such as India and the level of development it has,” Gita said.

Amartya Sen: Demonetisation is ‘unguided missile’, fired ‘unilaterally’

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen termed note note ban as an unguided "missile" fired "unilaterally" by the government without adhering to the democratic conventions.

"Every now and then we get missiles fired by the government unilaterally. demonetisation one fine morning is of course just such a missile where there are reports coming in of hardships and suffering though it is not quite clear where the missile has landed," Sen said.

Kaushik Basu: Demonetisation had little to do with corruption

Former chief economic adviser and and chief economist of the World Bank Kaushik Basu said it demonetisation was not a targeted approach to deal with corruption.

"The economy has slowed down as a consequence of that because it was not a targeted attack on corruption at all. My own calculation is that about 3 percentage points of the economy has slowed down because of demonetisation," Basu said.

"The demonetisation had very little to do with corruption. It is the poorer people and the informal sector which has been hit very adversely. That was a non-starter frankly, I believe," he added.

Arvind Virmani: Demonetisation useful method of flushing out black money

Economist and former Indian representative to the IMF, Arvind Virmani, said demonetisation is a useful method of flushing out black money, given that a large percentage of cash holding is in these two denominations, The Wire quoted Virmani as saying.

Bibek Deb Roy: Demonetisation was for institutional cleansing

Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) and economist, Bibek Debroy, admits that demonetisation was a temporary shock on growth but asserts that the economy has now climbed back.

Debroy says the worst is over and there are signs that things are improving now. He also says demonetisation should not be seen through a narrow cost-benefit calculus but as a move aimed at "institutional cleansing".

Surjit Bhalla: Demonetisation is a big bang reform

In an opinion piece written for Financial Express, Surjit Bhalla, member of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), said demonetisation is a big bang reform.

First Published:Nov 8, 2018 2:20 PM IST