New Delhi: Indians have validated 82 percent of bank notes rendered worthless by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise move last month, according to people with knowledge of the matter, undermining the government’s estimate of black money in the economy. About 12.6 trillion rupees ($185 billion) had been deposited into bank accounts as of Dec. 3, the people said, asking not to be identified citing rules for speaking with the media. The government had estimated that about 5 trillion rupees of the 15.3 trillion rupees sucked out by Modi’s move would stay undeclared, implying that this was cash stashed away to evade taxes, known locally as black money. One of Modi’s biggest campaign pledges was to expose black money in Asia’s No. 3 economy, and economists were viewing the cash as a potential windfall for the government.

Source: Mint December 05, 2016 11:05 UTC