New Delhi: The latest report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has suggested that nearly 60 per cent of the total fake currency note seized in 2021 belonged to the denomination of Rs 2,000, Scroll.in reported.
In the year, 3,10,080 fake notes worth Rs 20.39 crore were seized, and 60,915 notes worth Rs 12.18 crore were under the Rs 2,000 denomination, as per the NCRB report.
The most number of fake Rs 2,000 were caught in Tamil Nadu (25,012 units), then Kerala (9,065 units) and Andhra Pradesh (5,012 units).
Further, the report suggested that Rs 6.6 crore worth of fake money in Rs 500 denomination and Rs 45 lakh in denomination of Rs 200 were also recovered in the year 2021.
It was in November 2016 that the Central government withdrew Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes- the two highest denominations in circulation- through demonetisation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the introduction of freshly designed Rs 500 notes and Rs 2,000 notes to replace Rs 1,000 ones.
PM Modi had justified the move as the fight against corruption, black money and terrorism. But, the data suggests that there has been a considerable increase in the seizure of fake currency since 2016. In that year, counterfeit notes worth Rs 15.92 crore were seized, which was 28.10 crore in 2017. In 2018 it became 17.95 crores, but it reached 25.39 crores in 2019 and 92.17 crores in 2020, making a significant jump.
The seizure of 'dummy money' issued from the "Children Bank of India" was cited for the sudden hike in fake note seizures in 2020, The Hindu reported. The dummy money was recovered from a home in Pune.
The Union Ministry of Finance informed Parliament on March 2021 that Rs 2,000 notes were not being printed for two years. Reserve Bank had reduced printing the denomination in 2019, Parliament was told.