RBI clears proposal to introduce ₹200 notes

The board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cleared a proposal to introduce banknotes of ₹ 200 denomination, two people aware of the development said.

The decision was taken at the RBI board meeting in March, these people said. They didn’t want to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.

The process of printing the new ₹ 200 notes is likely to begin after June, once the government officially approves this new denomination, said one of the two people cited earlier.

An RBI spokesperson declined to comment.

Also read: Govt asks companies to disclose details about scrapped notes

The move to introduce lower denomination notes comes against the backdrop of the government’s move to rework the currency mix.

On 8 November, it announced the withdrawal of ₹ 500 and ₹ 1,000 currency notes, amounting to around 86% of currency in circulation of ₹ 17.9 trillion.

Since then, RBI has replaced these with the new ₹ 2,000 and redesigned ₹ 500 bank notes. As on 24 March, currency in circulation was ₹ 13.12 trillion, still around 27% off pre-demonetization levels. The government is encouraging digital payments and may not increase currency in circulation to the pre-demonetization level.

On 13 March, RBI lifted all cash withdrawal caps. ATM operators, however, say that there is a paucity of lower denomination banknotes.

So far, the central bank has not revealed how many of the old currency notes it has got back from the public. The window for Indians who were out of the country between 8 November and 30 December ended on Friday.

The RBI board has 14 members. Apart from governor Urjit Patel and four deputy governors, the board also has economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das and financial services secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal.