What is it? The number of people who died in the Indore-Patna train accident on Sunday. The toll was rising at the time of filing the report.

Why is it important? The tragedy underlines the problem with rail infrastructure in the country. In the last three years, every second train accident was caused by derailment. Nearly a third of those happened because of track defects. Besides, the train probably carried more than its capacity.

Tell me more: The efforts are still on to rescue passengers, and the death toll might go up. It’s among the worst accidents in the last 30 years in terms of the number of deaths.

5 trillion

What is it? The amount deposited in banks since the announcement of demonetisation on 8 November.

Why is it important? This is about 35% of Rs14 trillion worth of Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes that were banned. The deadline for converting these notes to the new currency is 30 December, and the amount that’s not converted will indicate the extent of black money in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the deposits would lead to lower interest rates and loans to economic enterprises. It’s not clear how much of the deposited money will be converted back to cash once the withdrawal limits are removed.

Tell me more: Meanwhile, the pressure on the banking system continues to be high as people wait in queues to exchange, deposit or withdraw money. To stop the same people crowding the banks, the government introduced marking them with indelible ink—collectively using 30,000 bottles of ink per day. The number of days from printing press to distribution centres has been cut down to six, from 21 earlier, according to reports.

Rs862 crore

What is it? The daily volume in agriculture-centric National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange on Friday.

Why is it important? The average daily volume at NCDEX this calendar year was about Rs2,000 crore. The fall in daily volume to less than Rs1,000 (it was low on Thursday too at Rs954 crore) is a result of a dip in arrival of commodities and closure of mandis since demonetisation. Farmers have declined to accept cheques, and there has been shortage of cash, after the government demonetised Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes which accounted for 86% of the cash economy.

Tell me more: There are concerns that the same phenomenon could hit the supply at the wholesale and retail markets, which, then could result in shortage and high prices. In Gujarat, farmers held a protest on 19 November against the non-availability of cash by dumping milk and vegetables on road.

600,000-700,000

What is it? The number of cases the income tax department can assess per year, given its staff strength.

Why is it important? The demonetisation exercise is likely to bring a large number of cases that might demand scrutiny by the department. The government has suggested that deposits larger than Rs2.5 lakh might come under the radar. There are also reports that other people’s accounts are being used to deposit unaccounted money.

Tell me more: Technology might be put to use to take some burden off the staff. The department has been using technology to track tax evaders for some years now.

7 million

What is it? The number of transactions done using Paytm, a mobile payments platform, on Saturday

Why is it important? The number exceeds the daily average of all debit and credit card transactions over point of sale terminals in August 2016. The value of Paytm transactions was Rs120 crore, implying that it was used for low-ticket items. Whether this is a short-term phenomenon driven by demonetisation or whether it will change customer behaviour, moving them to cashless transactions faster than the general trend suggests, remains to be seen.

Tell me more: According to the latest Reserve Bank of India data, there are 71.24 crore debit cards in the country. As per ministry of finance data, there are 19.44 Rupay cards connected to no frills, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts.

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