Adhia the trusted officer of PM Modi was behind the demonetisation strategy. Overseeing the campaign, with support from the backroom team camped out at Modi’s sprawling bungalow in the capital, was Adhia, a top finance ministry official.
The 58-year-old served as principal secretary to Modi from 2003-06 when he was chief minister of Gujarat, establishing a relationship of trust with his boss and introducing him to yoga.
Colleagues interviewed by Reuters said he had a reputation for integrity and discretion.
Adhia was named revenue secretary in September 2015, reporting formally to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
In reality, he had a direct line to Modi and they would speak in their native Gujarati when they met to discuss issues in depth.
In the world’s largest democracy the demonetisation was revolutionary: it called into question the state’s promise to “pay the bearer” the face value on every banknote.
At a stroke, Modi scrapped money worth 15.4 trillion rupees, equal to 86 percent of cash in Asia’s third-largest economy.
The idea is backed by some economists, although the speed of its implementation is widely seen as radical. “One is never ready for this kind of disruption – but it is a constructive disruption,” said Narendra Jadhav, a 31-year former chief economist of Reserve Bank of India who now represents BJP in Rajya Sabha.
Modi, in his TV address to the nation, cautioned that people could face temporary hardship as replacement 500 and 2,000 rupee notes were introduced. Calling for an act of collective sacrifice, he promised steps to soften the blow for the nine in 10 Indians who live in the cash economy.
Immediately after the PMs address, Adhia sent a tweet: “This is the biggest and the boldest step by the Government for containing black money.”
The boast harked back to Modi’s election vow to recover black money from abroad that had resonated with voters fed up with the corruption scandals that plagued the last Congress government. Yet in office, he struggled to keep his promise.
Over more than a year, Modi commissioned research from officials at the finance ministry, RBI and think-tanks on how to advance his fight against black money, a close aide said.
