No Plans To Demonetise Rs 2,000 Notes, Government Says

There are no plans to demonetise the new Rs 2,000 currency notes, the government said on Wednesday, putting an end to "rumours" to this effect.

"We are seizing fake currency. As far as rumours in the market are concerned, we should not go by such rumours," Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in the Rajya Sabha.

He was responding to a question by Congress member Madhusudan Mistry during Question Hour on whether the government will demonetise Rs 2,000 currency notes, citing "strong rumours" in the market.

The minister said fake currency has mostly been seized from Gujarat and West Bengal. "But it is not correct that fake currencies cannot be identified," he said.

Counterfeit currency that came into the market after demonetisation were made of low quality paper and were easy to identify, Rijiju said, adding that it was only later that fake currency notes with better quality paper started coming in.

Stating that the government has adopted many new security features in the new currency notes, Rijiju said, "I can assure the House and the country that now no one can copy 100 percent, as we have indigenous design and extra features." The government is more alert and has taken many measures to curb fake currency such and there were provisions for stringent action against those involved in fake currency, including setting up a coordinated committee of all intelligence agencies, providing training and creating awareness among the people, he said.

As per the data placed before the Upper House, Border Security Force has seized 378 new Rs 2,000 currency notes from Assam and West Bengal post demonetisation.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) has seized 22,677 new Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 4.53 crore from Gujarat and West Bengal.