Moneycontrol.com: New Delhi: Monday, September 11, 2017.
The Reserve
Bank of India used sophisticated Currency Verification and Processing (CVPS)
machines for checking the accuracy or the demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000
currency notes.
Quoting a
Right To Information (RTI) reply, PTI had earlier reported that RBI was not
using machines for counting Specified Bank Notes (SBNs).
The central
bank in a late Sunday evening press release said that the "RBI actually
uses sophisticated Currency Verification & Processing (CVPS) machines for
checking the numerical accuracy and genuineness of the currency notes,
including SBNs (including SBNs scrapped on November 8). These machines are way
superior to the note counting machines."
According to
the PTI report, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said in an RTI reply that
counting machines are "not being used" for tallying the total number
of demonetised notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in any of its offices.
The central
bank, which is responsible for printing of currency notes, later said,
"With a view to augmenting processing capacity, RBI is using the available
machines in two shifts and has been using some machines temporarily drawn from
commercial banks after suitable modifications and it is also exploring other
options to augment processing capacity even further."
In the RTI
reply, RBI refused to give the total number of personnel deployed for counting
of the scrapped notes, saying compiling the information would
"disproportionately divert" its resources.
"Counting
machines are not being used for the purpose in any offices of Reserve Bank of
India," the RBI said in the RTI reply dated August 10.
The central
bank also said no counting machines were taken on lease to reconcile the total
figure of the junked notes.
It was asked
to give details about machines being used for counting the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000
notes.
RBI also
denied sharing information on the total number of personnel deployed for
counting of the old notes.
"Compiling
the information would disproportionately divert the resources, the information
sought cannot be furnished as per Section 7 (9) of RTI Act, 2005," the RBI
said in its reply to the RTI query filed by a PTI correspondent.
In its annual
report for 2016-17 released on August 30, the RBI had said Rs 15.28 lakh crore,
or 99 percent of the demonetised 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, had returned to the
banking system.
It further
said that only Rs 16,050 crore out of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore in the old high
denomination notes have not returned.
As on
November 8, 2016, when the note ban was announced by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, there were 1,716 crore pieces of Rs 500 and 686 crore pieces of Rs 1,000
notes in circulation, totalling Rs 15.44 lakh crore, it had added.
RBI is
exploring other options to further augment the processing capacity.
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