Almost 97% of Demonetised Notes Back in Banks: Report

In this file photo, a bank employee stacks a bundle of old Rs 1,000 banknotes in Jammu on November 25. (Photo: Reuters)

New Delhi: Almost all the high-value bank notes that ceased to be legal tender post the demonetisation announcement on November 8 have returned to the banks dealing a blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise move to unearth black money in circulation, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

About 97 percent of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in circulation until November 8 have been deposited back, the report said quoting “people with knowledge of the matter”.

“Banks have received Rs 14.97 trillion ($220 billion) as of December 30, the deadline for handing in the old bank notes, the people said, asking not to be identified citing rules for speaking with the media. The government had initially estimated about 5 trillion rupees of the 15.4 trillion rupees rendered worthless by the sudden move on November 9 to remain undeclared as it may have escaped the tax net illegally,” Bloomberg said.

According to the report, banks have disbursed about 8 trillion rupees in new currency bills. The figures of bank notes deposited are provisional and may change.

Although the deadline for depositing the scrapped notes in bank accounts expired on December 31, the Reserve Bank of India is yet to release any final figure on the value of notes already returned.

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