6 years after demonetisation: Cash with public 70% higher; Congress says 'move destroyed businesses, jobs'

New Delhi: Currency with the public has touched a new high of Rs 30.88 lakh crore as of October 21, reflecting the circulation of the rupee in India has remained strong even after 6 years of demonetization. At the end of the previous financial year 2021-22 (April-March), it was at Rs 30.35 lakh crore, Reserve Bank of India data showed. The currency with the public is now over 70 percent higher than in comparison to that of the initial demonetization period. On November 4, 2016, the currency with the public was reported to be at Rs 17.77 lakh crore.

On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the move to withdraw Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes as a legal lender with the intention to reduce corruption and black money in the economy and make a less cash economy.

With reports of currency with the public hitting a record high, newly-elected Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said the move to demonetize high-value notes destroyed businesses and ruined jobs.

"Demonetization was promised to free the country of black money. But it destroyed businesses and ruined jobs," Kharge tweeted on Monday while attaching a newspaper headline regarding currency with the public hitting a new high."6 years after the `masterstroke` the cash available in public is 72 percent higher than that in 2016. PM is yet to acknowledge this epic failure that led to the fall of the economy," the tweet added.

Separately, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in a written reply to Lok Sabha in July said that the mission of the Government is to move towards a less cash economy to reduce the generation and circulation of black money and to promote digital economy.