Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the withdrawal¹ of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes from circulation on Tuesday in a shock announcement designed to tackle widespread corruption².

为打击大规模的贪污腐败，印度总理纳伦德拉.莫迪于周二发表讲话宣布，面值为500卢比和1000卢比的纸币将退出流通，令人震惊。

Modi said that while people could exchange their old notes for new bills at banks or post offices, or deposit them in their accounts, they would no longer be legal tender from midnight.

莫迪表示，人们仍然可以在银行或邮局兑换新货币或者把面值为500卢比或1000卢比的纸币存入账户，但从凌晨时分起，这些货币将作废，不再生效。

"To break the grip of corruption and black money, we have decided³ that the 500 and 1,000 rupee currency notes presently in use will no longer be legal tender from midnight ie 8 November, 2016," Modi said in a televised address to the nation.

“为打击腐败和洗黑钱，流通中的500卢比和1000卢比纸币将不再是法定货币，并在2016年11月8日凌晨即时生效。”莫迪在对全国的电视讲话中表示。

"This means that these notes will not be acceptable for transaction from midnight onwards."

“这意味着从凌晨时分起，这些纸币将不再适用于交易。”

The prime minister said that the move was also designed to counter Pakistan-based extremist groups who carry out attacks on India, saying "enemies from across the border" were financing their activities by mass producing counterfeit⁴ Indian notes.

莫迪表示，实施这一举措也是为了打击那些打算攻击印度的位于巴基斯坦的极端组织。他说道：“位于邻国的敌人正在大量制造印度假钞来为他们的活动融资。”

The government's finance secretary said in a separate statement that there had been a disproportionate rise in the number of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in circulation in the last five years.

印度财政部长在另一份声明中表示，过去五年里，流通中面值为500卢比和1000卢比的纸币呈现了不成比例的增长。

The 500 and 1,000 notes, which are worth around $7.50 and $15 respectively, are the largest bills in use in India.

500卢比和1000卢比的纸币（分别相当于7.50美元和15美元）是印度面值最大的纸币。

Modi said that although the existing notes would be "worthless", members of the public would be able to exchange them for new bills at banks until December 30. He said new 500 and 2,000 rupee denomination⁵ notes will be issued later by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), while other officials said the new bills would be rolled out from Thursday.

莫迪表示，虽然现存货币已经作废，但在12月30日之前，公众都可以去银行兑换新面值的货币。他还补充道，新的500卢比和2000卢比纸币随后将由印度储备银行发行。不过也有官员表示，新货币将在周四发行。

Hospitals and transport operators would continue to accept old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes for payment for the next 72 hours.

医院和交通业在未来72小时内仍接受500卢比和1000卢比的旧卢比纸币。

They would also be accepted at gas stations run by public sector⁶ oil companies, and at milk booths, crematoriums and burial grounds.

同样，国营石油公司经营的加油站、牛奶店、火葬场和墓地也仍接受这些纸币。

ATMs and banks would be closed on Wednesday and some ATMs would also be closed on Thursday.

自动取款机和银行将在周三停止工作，也有部分自动取款机于周四也停止工作。

Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has made the fight against corruption one of the central planks⁷ of his governing platform.

自2014年上台以来，莫迪一直把打击贪污腐败作为执政计划的核心任务之一。

While the use of debit⁸ and credit cards has increased in the last decade in India, many retailers⁹ still either insist on taking cash to evade¹⁰ tax or else ask for mark-ups to cushion the blow.

尽管在过去十年里，借记卡和信用卡于印度得到更为广泛的使用，但许多零售商为了逃税仍坚持收现金，或者通过涨价来减少损失。

Finance Secretary Shaktikant Das said the decision to pull the notes from circulation was "a very bold and powerful and a very decisive step to fight the menace of black money and the use of fake Indian currency notes".

印度副财长沙克坎塔.达斯表示，让500卢比和1000卢比的纸币退出流通的这一决定“既大胆又有力，对于打击黑钱和假钞具有决定性的意义”。

He revealed that the new 500 rupee note would bear the image of Delhi's iconic Red Fort while the new pink 2,000 rupee note would have India's Mars orbiter "Mangalyaan" on it.

他还透露，新的500卢比的纸币上面会印着标志性的德里红堡，而新的粉色2000卢比纸币则会印上印度火星探测器“曼加里安”。

Das also appealed to citizens not to allow themselves to be used by others to exchange illegal cash.

达斯还呼吁群众不要被他人利用，换取违法货币。

RBI chief Urjit Patel told reporters at a press conference in New Delhi that the central bank was "ready to meet such a requirement (for new notes) in weeks and days to come."

印度储备银行行长尔吉特.帕特尔在新德里召开记者会时表示，央行“已经准备好在未来几周内执行这一要求（新货币）。”

"The RBI has been concerned with the growing menace of fake Indian currency notes which has been increasing in numbers," he added.

他还表示：“储备银行一直担心假钞的威胁会不断增加，因为假钞数量仍在增多。”