Jan Dhan deposits doubled since note ban, tops ₹87K cr
DATA CRUNCHING ON IT department analysing deposit and withdrawal figures for ‘action at appropriate time’
NEW DELHI: Deposits in Jan Dhan account have more than doubled to ₹87,000 crore in the period of demonetisation and withdrawal of old notes, prompting the tax department to “dissect” information relating to such deposits, a top government official said.
The tax department has data on small cash deposits between ₹30,000-50,000 made in 486,000 accounts totalling ₹2,000 crore.
Between November 10 and December 23, the total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts reported is ₹41,523 crore in some 480,000 accounts.
This, together with the total deposits of ₹45,637 crore as on November 9, takes the aggregate amount in Jan Dhan accounts to over ₹87,100 crore.
“All these information received on Jan Dhan Accounts are being dissected. If it is found that money deposited in these accounts belong to some other persons, necessary action will be taken at appropriate time,” the official said.
The official further said inflows of funds into Jan Dhan accounts was the highest in the first week after demonetisation at ₹20,224 crore, but had tapered off subsequently.
“The inflow of funds in Jan Dhan accounts after the first two weeks was below ₹5,000 crore per week and thereafter it got reduced to about ₹1,000 crore per week,” the official said, adding that the deposits have come down significantly after the tax department warned people not to allow their accounts to be misused for converting black money into white.
After setting a cash deposit limit of ₹50,000 in Jan Dhan accounts, the government had on November 18 cautioned account holders that they will be prosecuted under the I-T Act for allowing misuse of their bank accounts through deposit of black money in ₹500/1,000 notes during the 50-day window till December 30.
The directive came against the backdrop of reports that some are misusing other persons’ bank accounts to convert their black money into new denomination notes.
As per latest data available, ₹12.10 lakh crore in form of old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes have returned into the banking system till December 12, 2016. It was estimated that now defunct notes constituted 86% of the notes in circulation, at ₹15.45 lakh crore.