The Centre had approved the design for the newly-issued Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes on June 7, 2016, five months before it announced the demonetisation of high-value currency, the Reserve Bank of India said in response to a Right To Information query filed by NDTV. The RBI had approved the design a few weeks earlier, on May 19, the report said.
However, the central bank refused to answer a question on whether it had any estimate or undertaken a study on how long it would take to print the new bills. Disclosing this information will “prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the state, relation with foreign state[s] or lead to incitement of an offence”, the RBI said as an explanation.
In December, the RBI had given the same reason while refusing to answer an RTI query seeking reasons for the currency ban. The discontinuation of the high-value notes on November 8 had removed 86% of the money in circulation, causing a severe cash crunch in the country.
Earlier RTI queries filed by journalists and activists had revealed that the central bank had recommended the note ban on November 8, the same day Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision in an address to the nation.
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