Rs 500 counterfeit notes surge 292% in 5 years

The trend of rise in counterfeit currency notes in the system continued with fresh data shared in Lok Sabha revealing a near 292 per cent increase in Rs 500 counterfeit note circulation over six years.

Minister of State for Finance in an answer to Lok Sabha said as per the RBI, counterfeit notes of Rs 500 (Mahatma Gandhi New Series) denomination detected in the system has risen from 21865 million pieces in 2018-2019 to 85711 million pieces in 2023-24.

This marks a rise of about 300 per cent, 292 per cent to be precise in a period of five years.

Likewise, while RBI detected 21,847 million pieces of counterfeit Rs 2,000 notes in 2018-19, it found 26,035 million pieces in 2023-24.

Congress leader Pawan Khera attacked the government saying “demonetisation was a colossal failure.”

“Financial Year 2022 witnessed the sharpest annual spike in counterfeit ?500 notes, doubling from 39,453 million pieces in FY21 to 79,669 million pieces—a 102 per cent surge in a single year. Counterfeit ?2,000 notes also saw an alarming 166 per cent rise in FY24, leaping from 9,806 million pieces in FY23 to 26,035 million pieces,” Khera said. He said the data underscored the failure of demonetisation, a policy billed as a decisive move to curb counterfeit currency and black money.