Hyderabad: The Reserve Bank of India has finally addresed the shortage of lower value notes in the state after repeated requests from the government. It is now pumping in Rs 500 and Rs 100 currency notes and totally stopped supply of Rs 2,000 denomination notes.
Though the RBI stopped printing of Rs 2,000 notes five months ago as per reports, it continued to supply those notes till April, which led to a huge shortage of small denomination notes.
Around 90 per cent of currency supplied by the RBI to the state post demonetisation comprised Rs 2,000 notes, leading to severe change problem especially in semi urban and rural areas where online transactions are fewer.
The situation worsened further in these areas with the onset of monsoon as farmers who secured crop loans could not take up day to day purchases or payments for agriculture activities due to the change problem.
Finance minister Etela Rajendar and agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy held a series of meetings with RBI officials and the state level bankers committee in June and urged them to stop supply of Rs 2,000 notes and circulate lower denomination notes.
Following this, the RBI started decreasing the supply of Rs 2,000 notes in phases from June. By July end, these supplies were cut to 5 per cent of total currency supplies to the state. It has stopped completely from August 1.
According to officials in the finance department, the RBI had supplied currency worth Rs 40,000 crore from January to May this year. Of this, Rs 2,000 notes comprised 90 per cent.
The RBI supplied currency worth Rs 20,000 crore since June, of which 10 per cent was Rs 2,000 notes and 90 per cent of Rs 500 and Rs 100 denomination.
However, financial officials are clueless over RBI introducing Rs 200 notes saying that there is no official communication.
