The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to come out with the data on the notes deposited post November 9 in the next quarter, about nine months since Narendra Modi government demonetised high-value currency.

In another three months, the mystery behind the so-called economic advantage of demonetisation should be resolved.

The Reserve Bank of India has been on the task of counting the notes deposited since demonetisation. The Modi government discontinued Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on the night of November 8, 2016.

WHY IT TOOK SO MUCH TIME

Given the sheer volume of notes deposited post demonetisation, the counting machines with the RBI fell short. Buying new machines for counting the demonetised notes is not feasible as typically such machines are not available off-the-shelf and have to be pre-ordered.

The window for Non-Residents Indians (NRIs) to deposit their old notes is June 30. The RBI will take those notes into account before releasing the data. Therefore, the data on demonetised notes deposited with the banks is likely to be available in the second quarter of the financial year 2017-18.

WHY IS THE DATA IMPORTANT

This data is crucial to determine the success of demonetisation in curbing black money. Beyond that, Finance Ministry officials say that this data will be important for Operation Clean Money since the deposits have left a digital trail which will help the government in identifying people whose income records don't match their deposits.

Nearly 18 lakh accounts have been identified so far that show a mismatch between income records and money deposited.

According to unofficial estimates, till December 30, 97 per cent of the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes was deposited with the banks.

It was earlier estimated that nearly Rs 3 lakh crore of demonetised currency would not flow back into the system.

ALSO READ:

Demonetisation is Modi's Napoleon moment: Amartya Sen to India Today

Apple CEO Tim Cook says Modi's demonetisation is a great move

How Modi changed (and changed) the demonetisation narrative