By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR:The bold decision taken by the successful Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to demonetize played a key role in disrupting the cash supply of extremists, disabling old fake notes and bringing financial transactions into the banking and digital system. In the past, Naxals used to dare to kidnap even the District Magistrate and MLA of Odisha. Now that situation is no more. Demonetization has a big contribution behind this. Unaccounted cash, fake notes and hawala transactions were fueling corruption and violence. Demonetization dealt a decisive blow to this system. Its contribution should also be evaluated along with the subsequent security campaign, development initiatives and economic reforms, said BJP spokesperson Shri Satyabrat Panda at a press conference held at the state office on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of demonetization.
Shri Panda said that demonetisation affected hawala transactions and immediately rendered old high-grade counterfeit notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 printed in Pakistan unviable. After demonetisation, about Rs 97.75 lakh was seized from various Maoist groups. A large amount of illegal money buried by Maoists in Odisha came to light. This move to cut off the funding of the extremists was part of a comprehensive campaign against Maoism. While the number of Maoist-related incidents in the country was 1,936 in 2010, today there is no district left in the Maoist-affected list. This is the combined success of security operations, intelligence coordination, development of roads and communication, rehabilitation and poverty alleviation along with demonetisation. Demonetisation had hit the financial strength of the extremists. Our security forces and sustainable development work have taken this fight forward. Mr. Panda expressed the view that this peace and security holds special significance for the people of the former Maoist-affected areas of Odisha.
Terrorist-initiated attacks and incidents of violence in Jammu and Kashmir have come down from 228 in 2018 to 12 in 2025. Terrorism incidents have come down by 95 percent due to the BJP government’s comprehensive anti-terrorism policy. Cutting off terrorist funding is a key part of this policy.
The data on counterfeit notes is also noteworthy. According to the Reserve Bank of India, the number of counterfeit notes detected in the banking system has come down from 7,62,072 in 2016-17 to 2,29,746 in 2025-26. That is, a decrease of about 70 percent.
Positive developments were also seen in the tax sector. Net direct tax collection grew by 18 per cent in 2017-18 and the number of income tax returns filed increased by 25 per cent. The number of new returns filed increased to about 1.07 crore from 85.51 lakh in the previous year. Between November 2016 and March 2017, Rs 900 crore was seized in income tax raids and about Rs 7,961 crore of undisclosed income was recognized. Demonetisation and subsequent verification of bank deposit data helped in tax compliance.
A Reserve Bank study had estimated that there were Rs 1.6-1.7 lakh crore of unusual cash deposits in a particular type of bank account.
This data provided an opportunity for investigation. Five crore more Jan Dhan accounts were opened between demonetisation and October 2017, connecting more people with banking services and helping to build an inclusive economy. Shri Panda said that the transformation of the country’s informal economy towards the formal economy is the biggest achievement of demonetisation.
Demonetisation has further fuelled India’s digital transformation. In 2025-26, UPI processed 24,162 crore transactions worth Rs 314 lakh crore. Demonetisation initially boosted the adoption of digital payments. Later, UPI, affordable internet, expansion of banking services and government incentives have taken it further.
During the demonetisation, the then Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik had won national acclaim for his support for the demonetisation move. Now, without falling prey to opportunistic politics, Shri Panda has called upon the stalwart Prime Minister to re-affirm his support for the demonetisation decision.
One of the spokespersons, Shri Rajendra Panda, was present at the said press conference.
