Junked currency notes deposit data to be revealed after June, says RBI

Adds, final numbers will be divulged when all windows for depositing old notes will be closed

Over a month after the end of the 50-day demonetisation period, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday said it is reconciling data on junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes with physical cash and the "final numbers" will be divulged after June 30, the day when all windows for depositing old notes will be closed.

Following the shock demonetisation announcement on November 8, the government had asked people to deposit old notes in banks by December 30. Indians who were abroad during November 9 to December 30 have been given a 3-month grace period till March 31 to deposit the junked notes, while for the NRIs, it is 6 months till June 30.

RBI Deputy Governor S S Mundra said the final numbers can only be revealed after counting the notes deposited in cooperative banks, receipt of information from Nepal and Bhutan and closing of the window for deposit of notes by NRIs.

"After adding all these, we will give out the number (of notes deposited). But the final numbers and piece to piece verification of the huge volume of currency that has come in will take time. That we will come out in due course," he told reporters in Mumbai.

"The window (for NRIs) is open till June 30 in which people can deposit cash. And after adding all these, we will give out the number," Mundra said.

Indian currency is accepted for transactions in Nepal and Bhutan. Post demonetisation, both Nepal Rashtra Bank and Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan were in touch with the RBI regarding facilitation of collection and deposit of old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 that are already in stock of the Central Banks.

"The work is on regarding number. There are 4,000 currency chests in the country. RBI keeps currency in 19 places. After December 30 when we had asked all banks to calculate, then RBI team also did the central checking. That procedure is over. Reconciliation is going on with regard to physical cash. We hope this will get over in some time," Mundra said.

RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi said post demonetisation RBI has pumped in Rs 9.92 lakh crore worth currency notes into circulation. It was estimated that Rs 15.45 lakh crore worth old notes accounting for 86 per cent of old 500 and 1000 rupee notes was in circulation before demonetisation.