Not A Single Rs 2000 Note Printed In 2019-20, Sharp Rise In Fake Currency Seizures: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not print a single Rs 2000 currency note during the year 2019-20. Gradually its number is also decreasing. The note was issued by RBI on 8 November 2018, the same day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation in the country.

The RBI in its annual report said, as of March 2018, the number of Rs 2000 notes in the economy was 33.63 lakh which decreased to 32.91 lakh in March 2019. At the same time, the number of notes declined further in March 2020 to 27.39 lakh. The share of Rs 2000 notes in total currencies was 3.3% in March 2018, which has come down to 2.4% in March 2020. During this time, the circulation of Rs 200 and Rs 500 denomination notes have gone up substantially.

According to the data, in 2018, 10,23,951 notes and coins were in circulation, which increased to 10,87,594 in 2019 and this figure increased to 11,59,768 in the year 2020. Simply put, now more notes and coins have come into circulation in the market.

In 2018, the value of notes was in the market of 18,03,709 crores which increased to 21,10,892 crores in 2019 and the figure reached 24,20,975 crores in 2020.

The report also states that during 2019-20, fake notes of 2,96,695 thousand were seized. Among them, 4.6 percent notes were seized at the central bank level and 95.4 percent notes were held by other banks. Among them, more than 17,000 notes were of Rs 2000.

On 8 November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the ban on demonetisation, saying that it will give a boost to the digital economy and break the system of fake currency. But it is quite clear from these figures that instead of increasing the digital economy, the trend of currency is increasing and the seizure of counterfeit notes continues unabated. This is the reason why PM Modi and the Union Ministers shy away from talking about demonetisation.