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Rs 2,000 Notes Were Not Printed In 2019-20, RBI Says In Annual Report

The currency note was introduced in the aftermath of demonetisation on Nov. 8 2016.

Men hold a two thousand Indian rupee banknote for a photograph in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
Men hold a two thousand Indian rupee banknote for a photograph in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

Rs 2,000 notes were not printed in the year to March 2020, the Reserve Bank of India said in its annual report for 2019-20. Their circulation too has declined over the years.

The currency note was introduced in the aftermath of demonetisation in 2016.

The number of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation stood at 27,398 lakh on March 31, 2020. That compares with 32,910 lakh at end-March 2019 and 33,632 lakh at end-March 2018, the central bank said in the annual report.

In volume terms, Rs 2,000 notes made up 2.4% of total currency in circulation in India, down from 3% in March 2019 and 3.3% in March 2018. In value terms, their share has declined to 22.6% at end-March 2020 from 31.2% at end-March 2019 and 37.3% at the end-March 2018.

In contrast, circulation of Rs 500 notes and Rs 200 notes has spiked, both in terms of volume and value, over the three years beginning 2018.

According to RBI’s annual report, no indent for printing of Rs 2,000 notes was made in 2019-20 and no fresh supplies were made by Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Pvt. Ltd. and Security Printing and Minting Corp. of India Ltd.

“The indent of banknotes for 2019-20 was lower by 13.1% than that of a year ago,” RBI said in the annual report. “The supply of banknotes during 2019-20 was also lower by 23.3% than in the previous year, mainly due to the disruptions caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 and the ensuing lockdown," it said.

On Rs 500 notes, the central bank said indent for printing of 1,463 crore pieces were issued and 1,200 crore pieces were supplied during 2019-20. That compares with indent of 1,169 crore pieces and 1,147 crore supply during 2018-19.

During 2019-20, the central bank’s mints received orders to print 330 crore Rs 100 notes, 240 crore Rs 50 notes, 205 crore Rs 200 notes, 147 crore Rs 10 notes and 125 crore Rs 20 notes. A large number of these notes were pushed into circulation during the fiscal.

Counterfeit Currency

A total of 2,96,695 Fake Indian Currency Notes, or FICNs, were detected in 2019-20, according to the RBI annual report released Tuesday. 4.6% of these were detected at the central bank and 95.4% at other banks.

Compared to the previous year, there was an increase of 144.6%, 28.7%, 151.2% and 37.5% in counterfeit notes detected in the denominations of Rs 10, Rs 50, Rs 200 and Rs 500 [Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series], respectively. Counterfeit notes detected in the denominations of Rs 20, Rs 100 and Rs 2,000 declined by 37.7%, 23.7% and 22.1% respectively, the report said. As many as 17,020 fake Rs 2,000 notes were detected during the last fiscal, down from 21,847 in 2018-19.

The banking regulator said it has undertaken several initiatives to introduce varnished banknotes in Rs 100 denomination on trial basis, but the process of printing such notes has been delayed due to the pandemic and certain other developments.