99% of banned notes returned after demonetisation: RBI annual report

RBI annual report says Rs 15.28 lakh cr of the junked currency came back, leaving only Rs 16,050 cr

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday said it estimated that people had returned almost 99 per cent of the scrapped Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes after demonetisation, effectively putting a question mark over the government gaining handsomely by the unreturned money turning into a special dividend by the central bank.

In its annual report, the RBI also said the face value of fake high-value notes was minuscule at Rs 41 crore.

The central bank said people had returned Rs 15.28 lakh crore of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore banned currency, or 98.96 per cent of the scrapped