A photo posted by Old BOMBAY (@oldbombay) onNov 15, 2016 at 1:27pm PST

India's previous experience with demonetisation was when the then President of India N Sanjiva Reddy promulgated the demonetisation ordinance on January 16, 1978, demonetising the Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 currency notes with the objective of eliminating "the possible use of such notes for financing illegal transactions."

 

People Waiting outside the bank for currency exchange 1978 #oldbombay

A photo posted by Old BOMBAY (@oldbombay) onNov 15, 2016 at 1:29pm PST

It was through the All India Radio’s (AIR) 9 am news bulletin that people were informed about the policy decision. It added that all banks and treasuries would be closed the next day, on 17 January.