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Strange, in Pakistan it's the opposite Govt issued Rs. 5000 note which is equal to INR 3171 because otherwise people were using USD 100 bills .... and only making USD stronger locally.. I still don't get how they are going to keep big guys from keeping USD $100 ... I would keep an eye on USD vs INR in coming weeks

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Hoarding large amount of foreign currency is illegal in India as per foreign exchange management act.

In India USD is worthless. I don't know why people would use other country's money unless their own economy is under heavy stress like Zimbabwe or Colombia.

This isn't true at all. You can't buy an auto ride, but USD and Euro are used as reserve currencies. If nothing else, inflation is significantly lower than for rs.

A surprising number of people have asked me if they could change their black money with me for dollars at favorable rates.

Can you use USD as currency in India? I haven't seen a single place that would accept that.

You can't buy regular items (e.g. a dosa) with USD except maybe at the airport. From what I'm told, USD is sometimes on the table as currency in black money transactions. I don't know the specific mechanics of it - I'm a firang with no black money.

Yes, they do accept USD at the airports. I've even seen a restaurant at a local airport where they refused to accept INR.

No dosa no money :P

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