Currency notes of Rs 2,000 were not printed at all in financial year 2019-20, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The central bank's Annual Report for 2019-20 also showed that the supply of banknotes during the period was 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.
The RBI said in its annual report that the value and volume of banknotes in circulation increased by 14.7% and 6.6%, respectively, during 2019-20. In value terms, the share of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 banknotes together accounted for 83.4% of the total value of banknotes in circulation at end-March 2020, with a sharp increase in the share of Rs 500 banknotes.
In volume terms, Rs 10 and Rs 100 banknotes constituted 43.4% of total banknotes in circulation at end-March 2020.
The number of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation came down from 329.10 crore pieces in March 2019 to 273.98 crore notes in March 2020.
The quantity of Rs 2,000 denomination notes constituted 2.4% of the total volume of notes at end of March 2020, down from 3% at end-March 2019. Further, in terms of value, the share of Rs 2,000 notes has come down to 22.6% at end of the financial year 2019-20, down from 31.2% at the end of the previous financial year.
The report also said that 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, 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, it said.
"The total expenditure incurred on security printing during July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 was Rs 4,377.84 crore as against Rs 4,810.67 crore in the previous year mainly due to lower indent placed during the year," said the report.
With IANS inputs