Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday stated that there would be "no change in existing currency and banknotes."
The central bank's response came after some newspapers had said photos of Bengal's greatest icon Rabindranath Tagore and former President APJ Abdul Kalam, also known as the missile man, were under consideration on a new series of banknotes of some denominations.
"There are reports in certain sections of the media that the Reserve Bank of India is considering changes to the existing currency and banknotes by replacing the face of Mahatma Gandhi with that of others. It may be noted that there is no such proposal in the Reserve Bank," RBI said in a notification.
Meanwhile, RBI's annual report highlighted that the number of bank notes of Rs 2,000 denomination has steadily declined over the years to touch 214 crore or 1.6 per cent of the total currency notes in circulation at the end of March this year.
In value terms also, the Rs 2,000 denomination notes dipped from 22.6 per cent of the total value of currency notes in circulation to 17.3 per cent at the end of March 2021 and further to 13.8 per cent at the end of March 2022.
According to the annual report, the number of Rs 500 denomination notes in circulation rose to 4,554.68 crore at the end of March this year as against 3,867.90 crore in the year-ago period.
At present, RBI issues banknotes in denominations of Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 2,000. Coins in circulation comprise 50 paise and Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations.
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