Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament to know why pink notes of Rs 2000 are not dispensed from ATMs

2000 Rupees Currency Notes: Just remember when was the last time you went to withdraw money from ATM and you got 2000 rupees notes on withdrawing money. Most people say that the sight of pink notes of Rs 2000 has become rare. Despite being in circulation, people are not able to see the 2000 rupee note. And when the government was asked in the parliament whether RBI has banned banks from giving 2000 rupee notes through ATMs, then the government has strongly denied such things. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that no such order has been given to the banks.

In the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, MP Santosh Kumar asked the Finance Minister whether the Reserve Bank of India has banned the distribution of Rs 2,000 notes through ATMs. In a written reply to this question, the Finance Minister said that no such order has been given by the RBI to the banks. He said that the Reserve Bank of India has not given any order to the banks for not filling Rs 2000 notes in the Automated Teller Machine. The Finance Minister said that keeping in mind the past usage, consumer needs and seasonal trends, banks themselves decide on the amount and denomination to be kept in ATMs.

The Finance Minister was asked that since when the RBI has banned the printing of Rs 2000 denomination notes. So answering this question, the Finance Minister said that according to the Annual Report of RBI, there has been no demand for the supply of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes since 2019-20. Earlier in December 2021 also, the government had told the Parliament that since 2018-19, no fresh orders have been given for printing Rs 2,000 notes, hence there has been a decrease in the number of Rs 2,000 notes.

A question was also asked to the government that according to some data, notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2000 issued after demonetisation worth Rs 9.21 lakh crore have gone out of circulation and have these currency notes been converted into black money? In response to this question, the Finance Minister said that no such data is available. He told that according to the annual report of RBI, at the end of March 2017, notes of denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 2000 were in circulation worth Rs 9.512 lakh crore, which has increased to Rs 27.057 lakh crore in March 2022.