[wtmt]

> The goal was to understand how much cash remained in the system, and to move away from a cash-based economy.

This is absolutely rewriting history. The stated goal at that time was “to remove black money”. The Reserve Bank of India knows how much cash is in the system at any point in time. That’s why we get periodic reports about it.

> It seemed more of a failure immediately afterward, but with 6 years of hindsight doesn't seem as bad.

A very badly thought out and badly executed move that resulted in about 150 people dying does seem very bad to me. The digital economy did not need such a stunt. Also, the amount of cash in circulation has more than doubled since that event in 2016.

The same attitude of “we’ll tell the people what’s good for them” repeated again during the COVID-19 pandemic with sudden lockdown announcements that left hundreds of thousands of migrant laborers without work and without a proper way to get back home (or have access to food and water).

As a private citizen, I would like others not to suffer so much because someone thinks they know better than everyone else and issues diktats that harm people.