Indian govt, opposition parties lock horns over one year of cash ban

NEW DELHI - India on Wednesday completed one year of demonetization, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government observing it as "Anti-Black Money Day" and opposition parties marking it a "Black Day" in protest against the move.

In a sudden televised address on Nov 8 last year, Modi announced the scrapping of currency notes of 500 and 1,000 rupees ($7.7 and $15.4 respectively), saying that it would wipe out black money from society, curb corruption and prevent the circulation of counterfeit notes among terrorists.

One year on, the Indian government said the measure is succeeded in curtailing the shadow economy that ran on black money and prevented the use of illicit and counterfeit cash to fund illegal activity and terrorism.