Black Friday: 44,000 jobs lost in Maharashtra when demonetisation happened, Yes Bank shares plummet

After the crisis pertaining to the fourth largest private bank of India – Yes Bank – caused a panic among lakhs of depositors, the findings of an economic survey tabled in the Maharashtra Assembly came as another big shock on Friday.

According to the economic survey conducted by Maharashtra government, some 44,000 jobs were lost in 2016-17, the fiscal year when the decision of demonetisation was announced by the Modi government.

The Economic Survey, tabled in the House on Thursday, also shows that the number of industries in the state were getting reduced in the state consecutively for the last three financial years.

As per the survey, in FY 2016-17, when demonetisation of high value currency notes was announced by PM Modi on November 8, 2016, the employment indicator reported a “correction” of 44,000 jobs.

In 2015-16, there were 28,210 industries in the state which got reduced to 27,010 in 2016-17 and further dropped to 26,393 by the end of 2017-18, says the government’s own survey.

Other indicators such as profit and net value added saw a slight drop in 2016-17, but picked up again in 2017-18, concluded the survey that was tabled on the eve of the state’s Budget presentation.

Another indicator in the Economic Survey 2019-20 stated that industries in the state had a total number of 19.70 lakh employees which got reduced by some 44,000 in 2016-17, when the employment figure was 19.26 lakh.

It may be recalled here that an analysis by Bengaluru-based Azim Premji University researchers had concluded that over 50 lakh people lost their jobs between 2016 and 2018 due to demonetisation.

The report – State of Working India 2019 – had also concluded that the labour force participation started declining suddenly between September and December 2016 for both urban and rural men.

Earlier on Friday, market benchmark Sensex plunged 894 points following intensifying rout in global stocks on coronavirus concerns, while the regulatory curbs on Yes Bank further soured sentiment.

After nosediving over 1,459 points during the day, the 30-share index settled 893.99 points or 2.32 per cent lower at 37,576.62.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty tanked 279.55 points or 2.48 per cent to close at 10,989.45.

Shares of Yes Bank tanked over 55 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placed the lender under a moratorium, capping deposit withdrawals at Rs 50,000 per account for a month and superseding its board.

The bank will not be able to grant or renew any loan or advance, make any investment, incur any liability or agree to disburse any payment.

The unusual move late Thursday evening came hours after finance ministry sources confirmed that State Bank of India (SBI) was directed to bail out the troubled lender.