Use relief measures to ease hardship due to demonetisation: Ratan Tata

Mumbai, Nov 24: Industrial conglomerate Tata Sons Interim Chairman Ratan Tata on Thursday suggested the use of special relief measures to ease the daily hardship faced by the poorer sections of the society due to the demonetisation drive. According to Tata, the present note ban implementation is said to be causing great hardship to the common man, particularly relating to medical emergencies, major surgical interventions and the procurement of medication at many hospitals in smaller towns across the country. "Hardship is being experienced by th poorer people due to the shortage of cash to meet the daily household needs for food," Tata tweeted. "While the government is doing its best to increase the availability of new currency notes, it may be worthwhile to consider special relief measures similar to those employed at the times of national calamities to serve the poorer segment of the population for their daily needs and for enabling emergency healthcare/medical treatment in smaller hospitals." Tata elaborated that such measures will be greatly appreciated by the distressed sections of the population as it would exhibit that the government cares and has not forgotten the needs of the common man. On November 22, Tata had tweeted: "Demonetisation of old currency notes by the Modi govt is a bold act that will wipe out black money and corruption. It deserves our support." In a sudden move, the government on November 8 announced demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency note to curb the menace of black money.