DeMo Impact On National Security: Pakistan Closes Fake-Note Presses; Kashmir, Naxal Violence Dips

Among the effects of demonetisation discussed in the wake of the 8 November 2016 decision was the attack on counterfeit currency, cross-border terrorism and left-wing extremism. Some of the facts and figures emerging now suggest that the scrapping of old high-value denomination currency notes has taken a heavy toll on each of these areas.

The investigating agencies tasked by the centre to assess the impact of demonetisation have revealed, according to Vasudha Venugopal for the Economic Times, that two main printing presses in Pakistan that previously printed counterfeit Indian currency have shut down. The additional security features on the new currency notes have all but destroyed the fake-note printing industry operating from across the border.

The agencies have also reportedly noted the steep decline of terrorism-related violence in Kashmir by nearly 60 per cent in December, with only a single bomb going off in the Kashmir Valley in the month. To add to this, insurgent groups have found it hard to procure arms, and many of them in the Northeast have returned across the border for safety. Additionally, left-wing extremist leaders who are struggling to convert their old currency notes into new have come under pressure to surrender.