One year of note ban: RBI still verifying returned notes

Nearly a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation, the ~500 and ~1,000 bills returned to banks are still being "processed in all earnest" through a sophisticated currency verification system, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said.

In reply to an RTI query, the central bank said it has processed about 11.34 billion pieces of ~500 notes and 5.24 billion pieces of ~1,000 junked notes, having face value of ~5.67 lakh crore and ~5.24 lakh crore, respectively, as on September 30. The combined value of the processed notes is ~10.91 lakh crore approximately, according to the reply.

"Specified bank notes are being processed in all earnest in double shift on all available machines (sophisticated counting machines)," the RBI said.

Replying to a question on providing the deadline for completing the counting exercise, it said, "The verification of notes withdrawn from the circulation is an ongoing process". At least 66 Sophisticated Currency Verification and Processing (CVPS) machines were being used for counting of junked ~500 and ~1,000 notes that were deposited, it added.

The notes deposited or collected are being verified by the central bank at its offices to establish the total number of currency bills returned and to weed out those that are fake.

Several opposition parties, including the Congress and Mamata Banerjee's TMC, have announced that they would observe November 8 as ‘Black Day’ and would hold protests across the country to highlight its "ill-effects" on the economy.

The RBI said it has processed about 11.34 bn pieces of ~500 notes and 5.24 bn pieces of ~1,000 junked notes, having face value of ~5.67 lakh crore and ~5.24 lakh crore, respectively