Modi’s move on Nov. 8 was aimed at cracking down on corruption and flushing out funds stashed away in India’s “black economy”.But the cancellation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes ($7.3 and $14.7), more than 80 percent of currency in circulation, threatens to push Asia’s third-largest economy into a liquidity crisis.

Consumer spending makes up 56 percent of India’s $2 trillion economy. But with just the small stock of smaller denomination notes available and a struggle to get hold of new bills, consumers are holding back.The government has acknowledged that the disruption would last weeks because of delays in note printing and technical problems with ATM machines, but Modi has made a plea for patience until Dec. 30. The government said it could not have printed new notes or recalibrat…