Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cleared a proposal to introduce notes of Rs 200

The Country’s supreme banking authority, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has cleared a proposal to introduce new currency notes of Rs 200 denomination, according to a report by LiveMint.

The decision was taken at the Reserve Bank Of India board meeting held in March, two officials of the RBI were quoted as saying in the news report. They didn’t want to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.

The process of printing the new Rs 200 notes is likely to begin in June after the central government officially approves this new denomination note, said one of the two people cited earlier.

When contacted Reserve Bank Of India spokesperson declined to comment.

The move to introduce lower denomination notes comes against the backdrop of the Central government’s move to rework the currency mix.

On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, and after that, there have been talks of some new denomination of currency possibly being introduced. Now it has been confirmed that a Rupees 200 denomination note, will indeed be introduced.

On 8 November, it announced the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, amounting to around 86 percent of currency in circulation in the country with a value of Rs 17.9 trillion.

Since then, Reserve Bank Of India has replaced these with the new Rs 2,000 and a newly designed Rs 500 bank notes. As on 24 March, currency in circulation was Rs 13.12 trillion, still around 27 percent of pre-demonetization levels. The central government is encouraging digital payments and cashless transactions, may not increase currency in circulation to the pre-demonetization level.

On 13 March, Reserve Bank Of India lifted all cash withdrawal caps. ATM operators, however, says that there is only a small or insufficient quantities or amounts of lower denomination banknotes in their hand.

So far, the RBI has not revealed how many of the old currency notes it has got back from the public. The window for Indians who were out of the country between 8 November and 30 December ended on Friday.

The Reserve Bank of India board has 14 members. Apart from governor Urjit Patel and four deputy governors, the board also has economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das and financial services secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal.

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