Black marketing of Rs2,000 notes up due to short supply

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, February 27

Even though the Rs 2,000 note was brought into the system after demonetisation to curb black money and hoarding, large-scale black marketing of these notes is under way. Some local businessmen said they got 100 notes of Rs 2,000 denomination for Rs 2.2-2.4 lakh.

Notably, the printing of Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes has been significantly lowered. A bank employee said fewer Rs 2,000 notes were being deposited in the banks these days. “New currency of Rs 2,000 notes is not coming, thus the circulation has lowered in the market and this created a shortage. Some people might be making money due to this shortage,” he said.

A businessman said, “I needed 200 notes of Rs 2,000, but nobody was willing to give these even after charging some extra amount. Later, I paid Rs 4.08 lakh for 200 notes of Rs 2,000.” A businessman of Fazilka said some people approached him in the past few days for Rs 2,000 notes and even offered to pay a higher amount.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha in September last year, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur had said, “During the year 2019-20 and 2020-21, no indent has been placed with the presses for printing of Rs 2,000 notes. However, there is no decision to discontinue the printing of Rs 2,000 notes.”