The number and value of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation declined during the year ended in March 2020, even as the Rs 500 notes in circulation sharply increased, according to the RBI’s Annual Report. The report disclosed that Rs 2,000 notes were not printed in 2019-20, though 1,200 crore pieces of Rs 500 notes were printed. The central bank printed 5 crore of Rs 2,000 notes in 2018-19.
Although 32,910 lakh pieces valued at Rs Rs 6,58,199 crore of Rs 2,000 notes were in circulation in March 2019, the numbers declined to 27,398 lakh and Rs 547,952 crore in March 2020. Now Rs 2,000 notes constitute only 22.6% of the total value, as against 37.3% in 2018 and 31.2% in 2019.
Alternatively, the value of Rs 500 notes spurted sharply to Rs 14.72 lakh crore in March 2020 from Rs 10.75 lakh crore a year ago. The number of Rs 500 notes also rise from 215,176 lakh pieces in 2019 to 294,475 lakh pieces. Significantly, Rs 500 notes constitute 60.8% of the total value of bank notes in India, up from 51% last year.
“The indent of banknotes for 2019-20 was lower by 13.1 per cent than that of a year ago,” said the Reserve Bank of India. The supply of banknotes during 2019-20 was also lower by 23.3% than in the previous year mainly due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing lockdown, it said. The value and volume of notes in circulation increased by 14.7 % and 6.6%, respectively, during Financial year 2020.
