印度废钞行动继续朝令夕改

Bank customers in India will not be allowed to deposit more than Rs5,000 without first being questioned by bank officials, the government has announced.

印度政府宣布，在没有接受银行官员问询之前，银行客户将不得存款超过5000卢比。

Yesterday’s move is the latest in a string of changes to the rules governing the demonetisation scheme since it was unveiled last month.

自上月推出废钞计划以来，规范这一计划的规则经历了一连串变动，昨日的举措是最新变化。

The finance ministry said customers would be allowed to make one payment of more than Rs5,000 ($74) before the December 30 deadline for exchanging money, but only after explaining why they had not done so in the previous six weeks.

印度财政部称，将允许客户在12月30日截止日期前一次性支付超过5000卢比（合74美元）来兑换旧钞，但必须先解释他们为什么没有在此前的6个星期这样做。

It said: It is expected that, by now, most of the people will have deposited such old notes in their possession.

财政部表示：预计至今为止，大多数居民已将他们拥有的此类旧钞票存入银行。

Keeping this in view, and to reduce the queues in the banks, it has now been decided that amounts exceeding Rs5,000 in old notes can be deposited only once between now and December 30 2016.

有鉴于此，同时为了减少银行排队，现已决定，从即日起到2016年12月30日，总额超过5000卢比的旧钞票只有一次存入机会。

Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, announced on November 8 that banknotes worth Rs500 and Rs1,000 — about $7.50 and $15 — would cease to be legal overnight.

11月8日，印度总理纳伦德拉.莫迪(Narendra Modi，见上图)宣布，面值为500卢比和1000卢比的纸币——分别相当于约7.5美元和15美元——将从午夜开始停止流通。

He told those holding the old notes that they had until the end of the year to deposit them into bank accounts and that deposits over Rs250,000 would be flagged to income tax officials as part of his push to tackle India’s pervasive black economy.

他表示，持有旧钞票的民众必须在今年底之前将钞票存入银行账户，超过25万卢比的存款将由所得税官员审核，这是莫迪整治印度大规模黑色经济的努力的一部分。

Since then, the rules governing what can be deposited and withdrawn have changed many times as politicians and officials have reacted to the confusion and lengthy bank queues across the country.

自那时起，为了应对全国各地的混乱局面和银行排起的长队，政客和官员们多次更改如何存取钞票的规则。

Five days after the policy was first announced, the government raised the limit of how much old currency could be exchanged for new notes over the counter from Rs4,000 to Rs4,500.

该政策首次宣布五天后，印度政府将在银行柜台可兑换旧钞的限额从4000卢比提高到了4500卢比。

Four days after that, the limit was slashed to Rs2,000.

但四天后，该限额被降至2000卢比。

A week later, the government stopped all exchanges completely, allowing customers only to deposit and withdraw in separate transactions.

一星期后，政府完全终止了所有旧钞兑换，规定客户每笔交易只能进行存款或取款。

The reasons given for carrying out the policy have also fluctuated.

推行这一政策的理由也在不断变化。

When Mr Modi first announced it, he highlighted cutting off a source of funding to terrorism as the main driver.

首次宣布废钞时，莫迪强调主要是为了切断恐怖主义的资金来源。

After that, he stressed that this was more about recovering untaxed black money before the message again changed, to focus on encouraging Indians to carry out more digital payments.

之后，他又强调，此举更多是为了追回逃税的黑钱，后又改口称，是为了鼓励印度人更多地使用数字支付。

Mr Modi again defended his move yesterday.

莫迪昨日再次为自己的政策辩护。

Speaking at a rally in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held next year, the prime minister gave details of a government lottery scheme to grant prizes to shops and customers who use electronic payment methods.

在明年将举行选举的北方邦(Uttar Pradesh)的一次集会上发表演讲时，莫迪详细介绍了一项政府彩票计划，让使用电子支付方式的商店和顾客有机会中奖。

Mr Modi added: I want to urge the intellectuals of the country to tell people about the resilience shown by Indians to support the demonetisation decision.

莫迪还表示：我要敦促印度知识分子将印度人在支持废钞决定上表现出的韧性告知世人。

History will not remember this move for which prime minister took this decision but for the fight waged by common people against black money.

历史将铭记这一刻，不是因为哪位总理做出了这一决定，而是因为普通民众发起的打击黑钱的斗争。