76% Rise In Fake Currency Post Demonetisation; Gujarat #1 In Fake Currency, Fake Rs 2000 Note #1 In Circulation

As per the latest Crime in India-2017 report, the value of total fake Indian currency seized was quantified around Rs 28.1 crore.

How Did This Happen?

The latest Crime in India-2017 report has revealed that the value of counterfeit currency got increased during this year. 

This represents a notable 76.5% increase from 2016 when the fake currency was valued around Rs 15.9 crore by law enforcement agencies.

The notable point here is that almost half of the counterfeit currency seized had Rs 2,000 notes which was valued around Rs 14.98 crore was launched in November 2016 after the demonetization was announced by Prime Minister Modi of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes.

Did Demonetisation Succeeded In Curbing Fake Currency?

The Modi government had announced the policy of demonetization where they claimed that this exercise was implied in curbing the fake currency rackets and black money.

In a total of 3, 55,994 notes were seized in 2017 which indicates an increase of 26.3% compared to 2, 81,839 fake notes were seized in 2016.

The currency seized in 2017 had 74,898 were Rs 2,000 notes and 65,731 were Rs 1,000 notes. Moreover  1, 02,815 were old Rs 500 notes, whereas 8,879 were new Rs 500 notes and 92,778 were Rs 100 notes and remaining belongs to other denominations.

In the same way, in 2016, a total of 2,272 counterfeit Rs 2000 notes were seized just after 53 days of their launch in November till December 31.

What Does Researcher’s Say?

The higher value of the Rs 2000 bill and the scarcity of notes initially in the market made it an attractive choice for counterfeiters said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings.

He said, “Fake currency is always a challenge and more so, when we have new currency notes brought in like the present series,”.

He explained further that counterfeiters can easily get away as the receivers are not entirely familiar with such notes and could not identify fake currency.

He said, “Also, 2000 rupee notes are easier for counterfeiters because in value terms they carry higher weight,”.

Past Experiences shows that the counterfeiting reduces over time as people get familiar with the currency.

He added, “But nonetheless, this, for sure will be a challenge for as long as people are not fully familiar with such notes, getting tricked into accepting them as payment,”.

Which States Reported The Most Fake Currency?

If we see state-wise distribution, Gujarat recorded the highest value of seized fake currency at Rs 9 crore makes a total of 9% of the total seized currency.

Also, Gujarat accounted for over 40% of the total Rs 2,000 notes seized in the country. In total Gujrat has almost 280% rise in the overall value of counterfeit currency seized.

Next is Delhi with Rs 6.78 crore (24% of total) worth of fake currency seized in 2017 which shows an increase of 20% compared to  Rs 5.65 crore seized in 2016.

Other states for example Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Kerala has Rs 2.86 crore, Rs 1.93 crore and Rs 1.3 crore worth of counterfeit currency seized in 2017 respectively.

Little Bit About Crime Report In India

The Crime In India Report records annual crimes registered in the country across categories in a calendar year. It is published under the Ministry of Home Affairs by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

The last report was released for the 2016 year in 2017. (reference News18)

The ministry has released the latest one after receiving a lot of criticism because of the delay in releasing the crime statistics.