RBI is still verifying post-demonetization returned currency
With the first anniversary of the demonetization approaching, the banned notes recovered post-demonetization are still being "processed in all earnest", said the RBI in response to a RTI query. The processing is taking place through sophisticated machines, but the RBI still has a long way to go - only Rs. 10.91 lakh crore out of the Rs. 15.28 lakh crore returned has been processed.
Details on RBI's note processing so far
The RBI's annual report for the year ended June 30, 2017, stated that Rs. 15.28 lakh crore or 99% of the Rs. 15.44 lakh crore worth of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in circulation had been returned post-demonetization. As of September 30, 2017, the RBI had processed 1,134 crore Rs. 500 notes, and 542.90 crore Rs. 1000 notes, totalling Rs. 10.91 lakh crore.
Notes in circulation during the demonetization
At the time of the demonetization on 8th November, 2016, there were 1,716.5 crore pieces and 685.8 crore pieces of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes in circulation respectively.
Other details given by the RBI
The RTI had asked for a deadline within which the processing was expected to be calculated. The RBI, however, did not provide one saying that the note verification and processing was an "ongoing process". Currently, at least 66 Currency Verification and Processing (CVPS) machines are being worked "in double shift" to quickly complete the processing of returned notes.
Politics surrounding the first anniversary of the demonetization
While the BJP has decided to observe the first anniversary of the demonetization as "anti-blackmoney day", opposition parties have other plans. Both the Congress, and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) have said that they would observe 8th November as a "black day" and carry out protests to highlight to "ill-effects" of the demonetization on the economy.
