RBI clarified that Rs. 500 notes are not missing; says RTI is being misinterpreted

An RTI query has come up with the startling revelation of missing more than Rs 88,000 crore worth of Rs 500 notes that the Reserve Bank of India should have in its coffers, reported Free Press Journal today (June 17). As per the FPJ report, an RTI filed by activist Manoranjan Roy revealed that three government mints, situated in Bengaluru, Nashik, and Dewas, published 8,810.65 million notes of Rs 500 currency. But the RBI received 7,260 million notes, 1550.65 million fewer pieces than the issued. Now those are not the only missing ones.

In an RTI reply last month, the RBI had agreed to not receive 210 million pieces of Rs 500 currency notes published by the Nashik mint between April 2015-March 2016.

World's Biggest Highway Robbery??

Gov mint printed 8,810.65Miln pieces of new Rs500 note, but RBI received only 7260Miln

Over 1550Miln pieces of Rs500 notes are missing in transit! 

Add 210M pieces printed by Nashik mint btwn Apr15-Mar16 & a Staggering Rs88K cr missing !! pic.twitter.com/nbNLaIkwVx

— Palak Shah (@palakshahjourno) June 17, 2023

Now if one add these 210 million to the earlier missing 1550.65 million notes, there are 1760.65 million Rs 500 currency notes without any trace, the FPJ report said.

Multiply 1760.65 million by Rs 500, and the amount becomes Rs 88,032.5 crore.

However, the RBI through a statement refuted the reports and said all the baknotes supplied from printing presses to the central bank are properly accounted for.

Clarification on Banknote pic.twitter.com/PsATVk1hxw

— ReserveBankOfIndia (@RBI) June 17, 2023

How things panned out

As per the FPJ report, Roy filed an RTI query with the RBI to know the status of Rs 500 notes.

The report says the RBI, in its reply, said that the Nashik mint printed 375.450 million newly designed Rs 500 notes, but RBI records show that it only received 345 million pieces between April 2015 and December 2016.

In another RTI reply last month, the same printing press said that for the financial year 2015-2016 (April 2015-March 2016,) 210.000 million pieces of Rs 500 currency notes were supplied to the RBI during the tenure of Raghuram Rajan as the RBI governor, but the RBI didn't get any of those notes.

The Bengaluru-based mint supplied 5,195.65 million notes of Rs 500, while the Bank Note Press in Dewas supplied 1,953.000 million pieces to the RBI in 2016-2017.

FPJ reported that out of the total 8810 million pieces of the notes issued from the three mints, the RBI received only 7,260 pieces of the newly designed Rs 500 note.

Zee Biz also contacted the RBI officials to confirm the report, but they didn't make any comment on the report.

The government of India prints currency notes in three mints -- Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (P) Limited, Bengaluru, Currency Note Press, Nashik, and Bank Note Press at Dewas.

After printing, these three mints send printed notes to the RBI. It is the RBI that maintains and manages the flow of cash in the country.

Ajit Pawar slams opposition for missing notes

Ajit Pawar, the leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra, alleged that billions of Rs 500 notes printed from the central government's currency printing presses in Nashik, Dewas, and Bengaluru, have gone missing. Reacting to a media report, notes were printed in the currency factory in 2016, but they did not reach the treasury of the government.