This is quite old and outdated but just to engage with it : It defeats the whole purpose of a bribe, doesn't it? If officials were gonna be intimidated by a no

This is quite old and outdated but just to engage with it : It defeats the whole purpose of a bribe, doesn't it? If officials were gonna be intimidated by a note, there are probably other recourses that would've done the job. Except none of them have. Officials are obviously aware that bribery is illegal. It's the idea that they "can get away with it" that needs challenging. If it's true, then the agency of the citizen is minimal; it's the agency of the relevant watchdog that needs strengthening. > Satindar Mohan Bhagat, an Indian expatriate who is a physics professor at the University of Maryland and the director of Association for India's Development, Inc. US, is credited with originating the concept of the zero-rupee note in 2001 I appreciate the sentiment, but it really reflects the disconnect between people who don't live in India and people who do. There is hardly a single bribery situation where this would be useful. The only cure to bribery is knowing more powerful people than the corrupt official - ie, bribery won't work on the elite and well-connected, unless the official is a fairly significant fellow. In an era where arbitrary income tax raids, "anti-national" accusations or just plain old Kafkaesque "punish them with more process" recourse are what meets people who challenge the regime...hard to see a valueless note gaining traction. If anything, it's a free pass for the official to get you accused of counterfeiting notes. Will it pass it court? no. but you'll be in jail for months before you see a judge. perhaps forever.