HDFC chairperson Deepak Parekh on Wednesday said the Centre’s demonetisation drive had “derailed the economy in the short term”, CNBC TV18 reported. However, in an interview with the news channel on November 17, Parekh had praised the move against black money and corruption as the “biggest of all big-bang reforms”.
Parekh’s changed stance gain significance at a time when Parliament is in a deadlock over the move and criticism of the campaign is on the rise. Parekh said, “Obviously demonetisation has derailed the economy in the short term. I expect the budget to take the disruption into account...Business confidence will be high when factories are working at 100% capacity, but no factory is working anywhere near 100% [right now].”
Stating that everyone wants normalcy to return, Parekh said that it would take a financial “quarter or so” for the situation to stabilise.
On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will not be legal tender. He said the step was taken to fight black money, corruption and the circulation of counterfeit currency in the country.
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