The Reserve Bank of India has said it is still “processing” the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that the government withdrew from circulation in November 2016. In response to a Right-to-Information query, the central bank did not give an expected date for when the process would be complete, PTI reported on Sunday.
The demonetised notes are “being processed for their arithmetical accuracy and genuineness, and reconciliation for the same is ongoing”, the central bank said. Asked for a deadline, the RTI response said that the processing is being done in an “expedited manner”.
The Reserve Bank of India also reiterated the data it released in August 2017, saying that Rs 15.28 lakh crore, or more than 99% of the value of the currency that was scrapped, had returned to the banking system till June 30, 2017. It had then said that these figures were only an estimate and may be corrected later as the notes deposited after demonetisation had not been processed for “numerical authenticity”.
The RBI has said in the past as well that it is still processing the notes, and it would take a long time. In September 2017, it said that it was using machines to process the notes “in two shifts”, but refused to disclose the number of personnel counting the demonetised notes.
The Centre had scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8, 2016, claiming that the move would end black money, fake currency and corruption in the country.
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