Rs 2000 currency notes not to be banned, clarifies govt; urges people to ignore rumours

New Delhi, April 6: Even as speculations are doing rounds that the government might launch new Rs 200 currency notes after June, the government on Wednesday has clarified that the newly launched Rs 2000 notes will not be scrapped. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday dismissed reports on demonetisation of Rs 2,000 notes and said it was not possible for forgers to copy all security features of the new currency notes in Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denominations.

Rijiju further added that it is not possible for the forgers to copy all the security features introduced in the new notes. When he was asked if the government was going to demonetise the Rs 2,000 notes, Rijiju said: “Don’t go by rumours.” “Fake currency notes are of low quality. They use low-quality paper and ink and can be easily identified,” Rijiju told the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour.

During his address in the Rajya Sabha, Rijiju said that various Indian security agencies, including the National Investigation Agency, have seized fake currency notes with a face value of Rs 6.23 crore post demonetisation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the nation by surprise on November 8 when he announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will be scrapped. He stated that this step by the government was to flush out black money from the nation. Rijiju informed that the government is running an awareness campaign in association with the Reserve Bank of India to sensitise people on fake currency and how to identify it.