[Church:] Imagine that in an instant some of your money became worthless. That's what happened in India. The government suddenly scrapped two of the country's largest currency notes and issued new ones. The move forced people to wait in long lines to trade in their old bills. CNN's Ravi Agrawal is in New Delhi where people are still scrambling to get the new rupee notes. He joins us now. So, how in earth did India get to this point? What is happening now and what is likely to happen going forward?
[Ravi Agrawal, Cnn International's New Delhi Bureau Chief:] That's right. Rosemary. So, I'm here in New Delhi in the heart of the city and this is about the fourth or fifth day now that people are being cueing up at ATM's. Today in Monday exactly is bank holiday. So, the banks are closed, ATM's are open. This one here I've met people in the line behind me who have been here for three or four hours already. And there are probably me here for a few hours before they gets the pan a little bit to the other side so you can see how far this line goes on all the way that way and then into the ATM machine area and that's where people are getting out about 2,500 rupees, that's the maximum about $40. Now, how did we get here and why are all of these people cueing up? Well, it all began on Tuesday when India's Prime Minister, Narenda Modi suddenly announce he was going to get rid of the 500 and 1,000 rupee bills. Take a listen to this.
[Agrawal:] Kamal Gupta [Ph] has run this business for 43 years. It's a typical Indian mom and pop stores selling everything from milk to shampoo. Today, he says, sales are down by more than half. Can I pay this for, with this 500 rupee note?
[Unidentified Male:] No.
[Agrawal:] What about this.
[Unidentified Male:] No 500, all closed by the government.
[Agrawal:] It all began Tuesday when Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi made a surprise primetime announcement to the nation. Five hundred and 1,000 rupee notes, the two biggest available would be discontinued and replaced with new 500 and 2,000 notes. The reason, a crackdown on counterfeiters and tax evaders. At mom and pop stores like this one here, that sell a whole range of products. There are no credit card machines. Every single transaction is in cash, and that's not unusual across the country. In fact, experts say that 90 percent of all transactions in India are in pure cash. So, even if it's expensive jewelry, people pay in cash, and that's what the government wants to change. One reason is taxation, only 3 percent of Indians actually pay income tax, that's in part because the tax barrier is high. But also because it's difficult to keep track of so many off the books cash payment. The government's main target is rich tax evaders people literally stock piling hidden cash. But this week, the middle class is feeling the pain as well. We walked around a few banks in New Delhi, long queues of men and women lined up to replace old money with new. For now they can only exchange the equivalent of 4,000 rupees just $60. We stopped to chat. This man says his son is getting married tomorrow. He needs to get out more cash but the surprise rules are ruining all of his plans. This woman here says the move is an inconvenience. But she's happy that tax avoiders will now face a crackdown. So, Rosemary, there as you heard from a few people, the middle class, new Delhi citizens and these are many more of them right here who are really bearing the brunt of a move that in design was meant to get rid of what is known here as black money. Money that is illegal money that hasn't had tax paid on. So, the off chute of that, the fall out of that, is that a lot of regular folk are really struggling as well to make ends meet, to get the money out to pay for their fruit and vegetables, the small daily stuff. So, frustration is beginning to build, but even so, it's quite peaceful in the number of people I spoke to here, say that these are tough measures but necessary measures, and hopefully some good will come of it in the few months, Rosemary.
[Church:] Yes. The frustration is totally understandable when you look at those cues. Ravi Agrawal joining us there from New Delhi where it is 2.22 in the afternoon. Many thanks. Well Saturday Night Live wraps a tumultuous week in America with a dramatic departure from the show's usual formula, that's next.