RBI governor Urjit Patel said note counting was not complete as there were not enough counting machines
Almost a year after placing an order, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is still waiting for 10 note counting machines to arrive from abroad.
RBI is yet to get delivery of the heavy-duty counting machines, for which it had floated global tenders in August 2016. This has slowed down the counting of the demonetized notes, sources said.
On November 8, 2016, notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination were declared invalid. These notes formed 86% of the Rs 17 lakh crore of cash in circulation. The deadline for residents to submit old currency notes was on December 31, 2016. Indians who were travelling abroad as well as non-resident Indians were given time till March 31, 2017, to exchange the old notes from the RBI counters.
The banks have submitted the total amount of notes they collected, but RBI now has the task of tallying the notes and also weeding out fake notes that may have also come. The suspicion is that many fake notes may have been submitted.
As counting of the notes continues, work in most departments of the central bank has suffered as employees are deputed from all departments for the special work.
Counters for the exchange of soiled notes are also shut for the time being as all efforts are on for tallying the demonetized notes with the figures submitted by the banks.
While facing a parliamentary committee, RBI governor Urjit Patel said the counting of notes was not complete as there were not enough counting machines to expedite the process.
According to a senior banker, "The invalid notes are still lying in the currency chests of the banks. RBI is yet to shred the notes. The old notes will be destroyed only when the figures from the banks are tallied with the RBI numbers. RBI is counting the packets that came from each bank separately. In the case of fake currency, the notes have to be returned to the respective banks."
Banks are also finding it difficult to store the old notes as the currency chests are used to store the new notes on behalf of the central bank.
The new counting machines will be big units measuring 10x10 feet. They will be able to count millions of notes in split seconds, eject fake notes, and also help in shredding once the numbers are tallied.
Another senior banker said, "The other issue is that when RBI comes out with its annual report next month, how will it account for the fake currency intercepted and soiled notes exchanged that are an integral part of RBI's key function as the country's currency manager. The annual report has a chapter on currency management."
The parliamentary panel members were disappointed with the replies and have decided not to call the RBI chief again for queries.
"We will submit our report to Parliament with whatever information we have got. The whole nation wants to know how many notes were turned in and RBI is refusing to divulge the details," said a panel member who did not want to be identified.
...& ANALYSIS
- RBI governor Urjit Patel said note counting was not complete as there were not enough counting machines
- As counting of the notes continues, work in most departments of the central bank has suffered
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 "Note counting machines")
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