3 ms·

They should have made the note look similar to a normal one, but with some kind of tracking enabled. By making it stand out, it defeated the purpose entirely.

They should have made the note look similar to a normal one, but with some kind of tracking enabled. By making it stand out, it defeated the purpose entirely. Bribes are not solicited for no reason. Officials require bribes in exchange for essential services: Getting your passport renewed, changing a land document, getting a particular license. In a small town where everybody knows everybody but the officials knows the most dangerous gang in the country (the police), it's downright inane to think handing him a note like this is going to put any fear into him. Whatever you were bribing the guy for will now simply not be done. The citizen who does this morally self-righteous act will also get a nice target painted on his head. And should he choose to report the case, well, he's playing the usual game of dice that is the legal system here. It would have been infinitely superior to make bribe-reporting a more anonymous process.

perryizgr8 5y ago
> They should have made the note look similar to a normal one, but with some kind of tracking enabled. By making it stand out, it defeated the purpose entirely. That would be illegal. You cannot print money that looks indistinguishable from real currency. Penalties for this are very strict and severe, and the "justice" apparatus moves swiftly on this sort of stuff. After all, this is the source of the government's power over the population.
mohanmcgeek 5y ago
> They should have made the note look similar to a normal one, but with some kind of tracking enabled. These exist and they're made by the government's anti corruption bodies. This zero rupee is made by an NGO and it's different to make a statement.
- srvmshr 5y ago
  > These exist and they're made by the government's anti corruption bodies. I would love to see a source of this. Because as far as I am aware, making special "notes" by any agency, government or not, is just against the minting laws. You are just confidently incorrect in your answers & resort to downvoting to views you don't like. Anti-corruption agencies (ACB EOW of CBI & ED of audits & account) in India use Potassium permanganate to dust the notes. The handprint of the accused are processed if they touch the notes. Usually recorded as pink stains on paper & dated with a magisterial witness. Source: https://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/Forensic_Science/05._Forensic_chemistry_and_explosives/07._Detective_dyes/et/4734_et_4734_et_07et.pdf https://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/F...
primordialsoup 5y ago
If I don't like you, I could give this to you without your knowledge and report you. The point being, it can fail and can be misused.
paxys 5y ago
That is called counterfeiting and will land the people issuing this in jail.
guru4consulting 5y ago
Long ago, I had volunteered for 5thPillar, the NGO that made these zero-rupee notes. There were so many weird rules to follow when you make a fake currency. Can't be same size, can't have both sides resemble real currency, should have clear print saying this is not areal currency, etc. If you break any of these rules, then it can land you in prison because counterfeiting is a serious non-bailable offense. When someone uses this currency, it gives a perception that they are not alone and there is some organization behind them. The gov official would prefer to move on to prey on other innocent citizens rather than dealing with this one person who seems to have some sort of support from some known/unknown organization. Unfortunately, this does not solve the issue completely as it just shifts the issue to other innocent folks.

perryizgr8 5y ago

> They should have made the note look similar to a normal one, but with some kind of tracking enabled. By making it stand out, it defeated the purpose entirely. That would be illegal. You cannot print money that looks indistinguishable from real currency. Penalties for this are very strict and severe, and the "justice" apparatus moves swiftly on this sort of stuff. After all, this is the source of the government's power over the population.

mohanmcgeek 5y ago

> They should have made the note look similar to a normal one, but with some kind of tracking enabled. These exist and they're made by the government's anti corruption bodies. This zero rupee is made by an NGO and it's different to make a statement.

srvmshr 5y ago
> These exist and they're made by the government's anti corruption bodies. I would love to see a source of this. Because as far as I am aware, making special "notes" by any agency, government or not, is just against the minting laws. You are just confidently incorrect in your answers & resort to downvoting to views you don't like. Anti-corruption agencies (ACB EOW of CBI & ED of audits & account) in India use Potassium permanganate to dust the notes. The handprint of the accused are processed if they touch the notes. Usually recorded as pink stains on paper & dated with a magisterial witness. Source: https://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/Forensic_Science/05._Forensic_chemistry_and_explosives/07._Detective_dyes/et/4734_et_4734_et_07et.pdf https://epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/F...

primordialsoup 5y ago

If I don't like you, I could give this to you without your knowledge and report you. The point being, it can fail and can be misused.

paxys 5y ago

That is called counterfeiting and will land the people issuing this in jail.

guru4consulting 5y ago

Long ago, I had volunteered for 5thPillar, the NGO that made these zero-rupee notes. There were so many weird rules to follow when you make a fake currency. Can't be same size, can't have both sides resemble real currency, should have clear print saying this is not areal currency, etc. If you break any of these rules, then it can land you in prison because counterfeiting is a serious non-bailable offense. When someone uses this currency, it gives a perception that they are not alone and there is some organization behind them. The gov official would prefer to move on to prey on other innocent citizens rather than dealing with this one person who seems to have some sort of support from some known/unknown organization. Unfortunately, this does not solve the issue completely as it just shifts the issue to other innocent folks.