A member of the Communist Party of India displays a 1000 rupee note during a protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the withdrawal of the high-value banknotes from circulation. Photo: AFP/Arun Sankar A member of the Communist Party of India displays a 1000 rupee note during a protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the withdrawal of the high-value banknotes from circulation. Photo: AFP/Arun Sankar
A member of the Communist Party of India displays a 1000 rupee note during a protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the withdrawal of the high-value banknotes from circulation. Photo: AFP/Arun Sankar
Tom Holland
Opinion

Opinion

Abacus by Tom Holland

Why Modi’s Indian banknote bombshell has shades of North Korea’s currency disaster

The Indian Prime Minister’s shock move to formalise the country’s vast parallel economy is set to bring more hardship than benefits in the short term

Tom Holland
Tom Holland

Updated: 10:00am, 21 Nov, 2016

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A member of the Communist Party of India displays a 1000 rupee note during a protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the withdrawal of the high-value banknotes from circulation. Photo: AFP/Arun Sankar A member of the Communist Party of India displays a 1000 rupee note during a protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the withdrawal of the high-value banknotes from circulation. Photo: AFP/Arun Sankar
A member of the Communist Party of India displays a 1000 rupee note during a protest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the withdrawal of the high-value banknotes from circulation. Photo: AFP/Arun Sankar
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Tom Holland

Tom Holland

Tom Holland is a former SCMP staffer who has been writing about Asian affairs for more than 25 years