NEW DELHI: Saying that the “critical part” of demonetization is now behind us, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said it will be “much better” going forward. “Demonetization has substantially advanced; not a single incident of unrest reported,” Jaitley said.

The union finance minister revealed that the Reserve Bank of India now has a substantial amount of currency available for disbursement. He added that a large part of currency has been replaced and more new Rs 500 notes are being released every day. With more and more currency now in circulation, Jaitley said that the ability of banks to lend money has substantially increased.

On the impact of demonetization on the GDP, Jaitley said that the critics have been proved wrong.”Critics proved wrong. There could have been adverse impact of demonetization on GDP for quarter or so, but it is not as bad as predicted,” he said. He also announced that there has been a rise in tax collection. “Till Dec 19, direct tax mop-up has risen 14.4%, indirect tax grows 26.2%; central excise up 43.3% and Customs rose 6%:,” Jaitley said.

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