Sushil Modi proposes gradual phasing out of 2000 rupee currency notes
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New Delhi: A BJP MP presented a peculiar request in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Sushil Kumar Modi, a BJP member and former finance minister of Bihar, requested the Centre, through the Chair, to phase out the Rs 2,000 note. Citizens who own such currencies should have two years to deposit them, it was suggested.
The matter was brought up by Modi during a zero-hour remark, claiming that the majority of the nation's ATMs, marketplaces, and currency of the Rs 2,000 denomination have all but disappeared. He expressed his suspicion that the Rs 2000 notes may be illegally stockpiled and utilised in illicit trades like those involving drugs, money laundering, etc. He also voiced disappointment over the Rs. 2000 note not being utilised for typical transactions, NIE reported.
"There is a need for phasing out the Rs 2000 currency note in a gradual manner giving an adequate time of a year to the people to deposit their legitimate holdings into smaller denomination currency notes," Modi said, adding that no logic in bringing a Rs 2000 currency note was seen when the currency of Rs 1,000 denomination was out of circulation.
He said that while the Rs 2000 note was introduced by RBI to replace the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes at a faster pace in 2016, their printing has stopped in the last three years owing to several challenges associated with the circulation."
Modi stated that the highest denomination in the United States is $100, while China uses the 100 Yuan. He gave examples of some developed nations that lack higher denominations of currency. The highest denominations are 200 CAD in Canada and 200 EUR in the European Union.
He, cited as an example in support of his demand, stated that the EU withdrew 5000 Eros notes in 2018 and Singapore ceased printing $10,000 notes in 2010 to combat unlawful operations of drug trafficking, money laundering, terror funding and tax fraud. "Since India is also becoming a hub for digital transactions which also entail settlements of larger amounts, there is limited need for having a high-denomination currency of Rs 2000," he categorically stated while urging to phase it out.
