Cash Circulation Increases 83% Six Years After Demonetization

Cash is still the dominant form of currency in India, according to official data from the Reserve Bank of India.

The value of cash in circulation, or the amount held by the public, reached INR 32.42 lakh crore (about $440 billion) on December 23, 2022, nearly double the INR 17.74 lakh crore (about $240 billion) recorded on November 4, 2016, just before the Indian government banned 86% of the country’s currency in an attempt to combat black money and corruption.

The demonetisation policy, which replaced the banned notes with new 500 and 2,000 rupee notes but did not reintroduce the 1,000 rupee note, faced criticism and was challenged in the Supreme Court, which upheld its legality in a 4:1 verdict on Monday.

The value of cash in circulation has increased by 260% since January 6, 2017 and by 83% since the demonetisation policy was implemented.