New Delhi, October 2: The highest number of fake notes that were seized from several regions across the country in 2019 were currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination. According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) annual Crime in India report, counterfeit notes that were seized in 2019 saw a surge as compared to 2018. According to a report by The Hindu, the data on seizures of counterfeit notes shows there is a rise in fake currency in 2019 compared to 2018. Even after four years of demonetisation, fake currency notes are in circulation. RBI to Ban Rs 2000 Notes And Release New Rs 1000 Notes on January 1, 2020? Viral Messages Fact-Checked.

The report quotes NCRB data showing that Rs 25.39 crore in fake Indian currency were seized in 2019, compared to Rs 17.95 crore 2018. The data shows a surge of 11.7% in 2019 as compared to 2018. However, the government has time and again stated that the Rs 2,000 notes comprise of several high security features which cannot be counterfeited. Rs 2,000 Currency Notes Update: Nirmala Sitharaman Dismisses Reports of 'Banks Being Instructed to Stop Putting Rs 2,000 Notes in ATMs'.

One of the key factor for the demonetisation decision was to wipe out fake currency notes in circulation. According to a report by The Hindu, the NCRB data shows that  90,566 pieces of fake Rs 2,000 notes were seized in 2019 of which the highest number of seizures were done in Karnataka- 23,599, Gujarat- 14,494 and West Bengal- 13,637.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual report for 2019-20, which was released on August 25, said that it did not print even a single Rs 2,000 note in 2019-20. "Currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination were not printed in 2019-20 and the circulation of these notes have declined over the years", the RBI said. Fake Currency Notes Worth Rs 1 Crore Deposited in RBI Between 2017 and 2018.

The RBI added that the number of pieces of Rs 2,000 denomination notes constituted 2.4 percent of the total volume of notes at end-March 2020, down from 3 per cent at end-March 2019 and 3.3 per cent at end-March 2018. "The number of Rs 2,000 currency notes in circulation has come down from 33,632 lakh pieces at end-March 2018 to 32,910 lakh pieces at end-March 2019 and further to 27,398 lakh pieces at end-March 2020", the RBI said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 02, 2020 02:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).