RBI May Disclose The Value Of Demonetised Notes That Have Not Returned To Banks In Two Weeks

In the next two weeks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may disclose the value of demonetised currency notes that have not returned to banks, the Economic Times has reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter.

According to the daily, the RBI will hold a meeting with its auditors later this month to put a number to the notes which were neither exchanged nor deposited in bank accounts. The declaration is possible because the RBI cannot conclude its balance sheet calculations for the year ended on 30 June 2017 without giving a number to delegalised notes, which were not returned to banks.

As a part of its year-end calculations, the RBI needs to declare dividend or surplus to the government. This can’t be done in absence of a definite number.

Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes ceased to be legal tender from the midnight of 8 November. Collectively the value of the demonetised notes has been estimated at 17.5 lakh crore and accounted for more than 85 per cent of the currency in circulation. According to the daily, business circles expect the value of demonetised notes that were not returned to be around Rs 25,000 crore.