india

Updated: Jan 04, 2019 13:40 IST

A top government official said on Friday there was “no decision” regarding the printing of Rs 2,000 notes as there was “more than adequate notes” of the denomination in the system, amid reports that it was being phased out.

“Printing of notes is planned as per the projected requirement. We have more than adequate notes of Rs 2000 in the system with over 35% of notes by value in circulation being of Rs 2000,” economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said.

“There has been no decision regarding 2000 rupee note production recently,” Garg tweeted.

A report had said on Thursday that the government had stopped printing the Rs 2,000 currency notes in a bid to slowly reduce their circulation.

The Rs 2,000 note was introduced in November 2016 after the Narendra Modi-led government demonetised Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations as part of an exercise pitched as a crackdown on black money. At that time, to counter the massive cash shortage, the government flooded the country with new Rs 2,000 notes.

As of March 2018, the total value of the currency in circulation was Rs 18.03 lakh crore, of which Rs 6.73 lakh crore, or 37%, was in Rs 2,000 notes, and Rs 7.73 lakh crore, approximately 43%, in Rs 500 notes. The remaining was in the lower denominations.