Where Are Rs 2000 Currency Notes? SBI Report Claims RBI Is ‘Holding Back’ Notes!

The mystery and secret behind Rs 2000 currency notes is refusing to subside.

A recent SBI (State Bank of India) report, claims that Reserve Bank of India or RBI has either stopped printing Rs 2000 currency notes, or holding back those notes which have been already printed.

SBI is India’s largest bank, and such a report from their end means serious business.

The mystery is regarding Rs 2.4 lakh crore worth of Rs 2000 notes, which have simply vanished from the system.

What is the truth here?

SBI Report: Rs 2000 Currency Notes Being Held Back By RBI

SBI’s famed EcoFlash Report has tried to match the figures presented in the Lok Sabha, with that of actual RBI report on the distribution of currencies in India, and the results are stunning.

If we believe SBI report on the matter, then RBI has held back around Rs 2.4 lakh crore worth of Rs 2000 currencies, as smaller denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 100 have been flooded in the market.

Besides, the newly launched Rs 200 currency note is also making its way slowly but gradually.

This is how SBI has discovered this: As of December 8th, RBI printed 16,957 million pieces of Rs 500 notes and 3,654 million pieces of Rs 2,000 , which is total of Rs 15,787 billion worth of currencies.

However, as per a reply posted in Lok Sabha, Rs 13,324 billion worth of higher denomination currency is right now in circulation.

This means there is a gap of Rs 2463 billion worth of currencies or Rs 2.4 lakh crore (Rs 15,787 billion – Rs 13,324 billion).

Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic adviser, SBI, who authored this report said,

“This means that the residual amount of high currency notes (Rs 15,787 billion – Rs 13,324 billion) of Rs 2,463 billion may have been printed by the RBI but not supplied in the market,”

But Why Is This Happening?

The reason is positive, and on some levels, RBI has done a good job here (if we believe SBI report)

Rs 2000 currency has been proven to be an acute discomfort for the end users, and for businesses as well. As I have myself experienced personally, getting a change of Rs 2000 currency note is almost a herculean task in Noida and New Delhi, and imagine the condition in smaller towns and cities.

The gap between Rs 500 and Rs 2000 is much bigger than what RBI had anticipated, and maybe this is the reason they have either stopped printing new Rs 2000 notes, or held back the printed notes, and in turn gave more push to Rs 500 and Rs 200 currencies.

The report said,

“As a logical corollary, as 2000 denomination currency led to challenges in transactions, it thus indeed seems that RBI may have either consciously stopped printing the 2000 denomination notes/or printing in smaller numbers after initially it was printed in ample amount to normalise the liquidity situation,”

After the demonetization move last year, Govt. had announced new Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes, but now, it seems that Rs 2000 currency was a stop-gap arrangement.

This recent SBI report on the disappearance of Rs 2000 currency is perfectly in line with our earlier report, wherein we had claimed that Rs 2000 currency would be soon out of use in India.

Is it really happening now?

We will keep you updated as we receive more inputs regarding this matter.