Has Centre Decided to Discontinue Printing of Rs 2000 Notes? This is What Modi Govt Said | Read Here

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its annual report, had said that currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were not printed in 2019-20. Thereafter, a couple of unconfirmed reports on discontinued printing of Rs 2000 notes did rounds on social media. Clearing the air, the Centre has now confirmed that it has not decided to discontinue the printing of the high denomination notes yet. It maintained that the printing of Rs 2000 has gone down. Also Read – Farm Bills 2020: Haryana Home Minister Hits Out at Kejriwal, Asks Him What Provisions of Bills Benefit Corporates

“During the year 2019-20 and 2020-21, no indent has been placed with the presses for printing of Rs. 2000 denomination notes. However, there is no decision to discontinue the printing of Rs. 2,000 denomination bank notes by the Government,” Minister of State for Finance, Anurag Thakur, said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. Also Read – Farm Bills Row: Not Calling Bills Anti-farmer, Says Harsimrat Kaur; SAD to Wait For Fate of Bills in RS Before Taking Call on Staying in NDA | Top Points

When asked about the impact of the pandemic on the printing process of notes, Thakur reverted that it had to be stopped temporarily due to the nation-wide lockdown. However, the printing resumed later in a phased manner, he said. Also Read – Anurag Thakur’s Remarks on Gandhi-Nehru Family Stir Row in Lok Sabha, Impasse Ends After 4 Adjournments

The number of Rs 2,000 currency notes in circulation come down from 33,632 lakh pieces at end-March 2018 to 32,910 lakh pieces at end-March 2019 and further to 27,398 lakh pieces at end-March 2020, the RBI Annual Report had said.

Currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were not printed in 2019-20 and the circulation of these notes have declined over the years, according to the annual report.

The number of pieces of Rs 2,000 denomination notes constituted 2.4 per cent of the total volume of notes at end-March 2020, down from 3 per cent at end-March 2019 and 3.3 per cent at end-March 2018.