RBI may have consciously stopped printing Rs 2000 currency note: SBI Report

New Delhi : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have deliberately stopped printing of Rs 2000 currency denomination or may either be holding it back, says a SBI report.

The high value currency note was introduced for the first time last year after the withdrawal of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

As per data submitted by the Union Finance Minister in Lok Sabha the value of ₹2,000 notes were ₹7,308 billion as on December 8, while the value of small denomination currency in circulation up to March 2017 was ₹3,501 billion.

The RBI has printed 16,957 million pieces of ₹500 notes and 3,654 million pieces of ₹2,000 notes as on December 8. The total value of such notes translates to ₹15,787 billion, data provided by the Ministry.

“This implies that the value of high denomination notes was equivalent to ₹13,324 billion as on December 8 after we net out the small denomination notes from the currency in circulation on December 8. This means that the residual amount of high-value currency notes of ₹2,463 billion may have been printed by the RBI but not supplied in the market,” a SBI Ecoflash report said.

“...it is safe to assume that ₹2,463 billion may be on the lower side as the RBI must have printed notes of small denomination in the interregnum (₹50 and ₹200),” it said.

This also means that the share of small currency notes in total currency in circulation now may have touched 35 per cent in value terms, it added.

Demonetisation on November 8 last year had thrown India into a huge cash crunch with people standing in long ques to change their old currency with the new one. 

RBI also introduced a new version of the Rs. 500 note, followed by a Rs 200 currency notes.