The Reserve Bank. The amount of banned currency notes that did not return to the system post demonetisation stands at Rs 10,700 crore, or 0.7 per cent of the old lot of notes, according to RBI data.
This amount has been arrived at based on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) annual report for 2017-18, after deducting the amount of Rs 15.31 lakh crore of high-value currency notes that returned to the banks, from the Rs 15.42 lakh crore worth such notes in circulation before the demonetisation of November 8, 2016.
A partial explanation for the missing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes is provided by the report that out of the total fake notes detected at the RBI, their share during 2017-18 was higher at 36.1 per cent, compared with 4.3 per cent during 2016-17.
This was because of processing of a large volume of specified banknotes (SBNs) withdrawn from circulation by demonetisation, the report said.
On a day when the Indian rupee plunged to a record low of 70.65 to a US dollar, the government on Wednesday said it was expected to remain in the range of 68 to 70 during the year.
Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg told the media that the depreciation in the rupee was due to some small mismatch in the demand and supply, which may go either way depending on the view taken by the operators.
He said while foreign portfolio investors took some USD nine billion from the country during the first three months of the current fiscal, net flow was at an equilibrium in July.
“This month there has been so far a positive inflow of over one billion dollars. That suggests the sentimental change about the view on rupee (and) that the current levels are fairly stable,” Garg said.
“Therefore, that gives me some confidence that where we are today, there may not be much variation. So I retain the same view that between 68 to 70 is the level where the rupee would mostly remain.
“Considering fundamental supply of dollars and the demand, it should be fair to assume that that might be the level on which it will stay during the year,” he added.
Earlier, after hitting an all-time low 70.65 per dollar, the rupee settled at 70.59 per dollar, depreciating by 49 paise from its previous close of 70.10 per dollar. (IANS)