Scrapping notes: Guj connection Morarji & Modi; Patel & Patel

Gaurav ChoudhuryMoneycontrolOn Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stunned the nation by unexpectedly announcing the scrapping of Rs 500 an Rs 1000 currency notes.The last time India demonetized high denomination notes was in 1978 when Prime Minister Morarji Desai, also from Gujarat, banned The Indian rupee notes of 1000, 5000 and 10,000 denomination.Gold auctions were also demonetised during his tenure.The demonetization in 1978 was overseen the by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor IG Patel, an eminent economist who also hailed from Gujarat.Patel served as the 14th RBI governor from 1977 to 1982Thirty-eight years later, the demonentisation of high denomination currency notes will be overseen by the 24th RBI governor Urjit Patel, also from Gujarat.The connection doesn’t end there.Urjit Patel traces his roots to Palana village in Gujarat’s Kheda district, the same place where IG Patel’s family hailed from.Urjit Patel’s grandfather had migrated from central Gujarat in the early years of the 20th century to Kenya. Patel’s father, who passed away few years ago, was born in Kenya and was successful entrepreneur in Nairobi.IG Patel joined the Reserve Bank as Governor after serving as Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and thereafter at the UNDP.Urjit Patel, who joined as the RBI chief after serving as the central bank’s deputy governor, was a Consultant (1998-2001) to the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, New Delhi.