The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday said banks had collected a total of Rs 12.44 lakh crore in demonetised notes between November 8 and December 10, while Rs 4.61 lakh crore had been issued in new currency during the same period, PTI reported. The Centre’s demonetisation drive completed 35 days on Tuesday.
RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi said, “The printing and issuance of currency notes will be a continuous affair. The public are requested to use the [disbursed] notes freely instead of hoarding the currency.”
The RBI also issued a notification to banks across the country, directing them to store close-circuit television footage of operations at bank branches and currency chests recorded between November 8 and December 30, 2016, until further notice. The central bank said the footage will help “facilitate identification of people abetting circulation of counterfeit notes”.
The footage will help enforcement agencies deal with matters related to the hoarding of new currency notes, the notification said. In October, the central bank had directed banks to record activities taking place in the banking hall/area.
On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes were illegal tender. The Centre has faced tremendous flak for the move, with several Opposition leaders criticising it. The country has also suffered a cash crunch after the announcement. Following the decision to demonetise the notes, income tax and other enforcement officials have conducted numerous raids across the country as part of a crackdown on black money in India.
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