A closer look
In a plot twist that sounds like a supervillain's master plan, the Indian government suddenly announced that 86% of the country's cash was just worthless paper. In 2016, Prime Minister Modi initiated 'demonetization,' instantaneously stripping all 500 and 1,000 rupee notes of their status as legal tender. The goal was to force tax evaders and corrupt officials hoarding 'black money' in their mattresses to either deposit it and get taxed, or lose it forever. Instead, it triggered massive, chaotic bank runs, completely paralyzed the cash-reliant lower-class economy, and largely failed because wealthy criminals simply used complex networks to launder the cash anyway.
