Skip to main content

Blogger debunks Modi's counterfeit logic for noteban, as there's high sezure rate of Rs 400 crore fake currency

Counterview Desk
Blogger James Wilson, a consultant with the Government of Kerala, debunking the popular myth that Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) were 30-40% of the total currency in circulation, has said, quoting official sources, that, in value terms, they did not form more than 0.0018% of the total currency in circulation in 2015-16, with a declining trend over the last five years.
Analyzing RBI Annual Reports from 2000-2001 to 2015-16 to “gather pointers about the FICN detection in the banking system”, Wilson says in a blog, the figures suggests that “the percentage of FICN in 2000-2001 was 0.0015%, which is seen steadily declined to 0.0004% up to 2005-06, which then steeply increased to 0.0023% in 2008-09 and reached to 0.0018% in the year 2015-16.”
Coming to individual currencies, the blogger says, the FICN of Rs 1000 notes, which were introduced in the circulation in 2000-2001, took eight years to cross the 0.001% of the value of the total Rs 1000 notes in circulation. “During the year 2011-12 it reach 0.0024% and more or less remain around that value till 2015-16 (0.0023%)”, the blogger reveals.
As for the FICN of Rs 500 notes, the blogger says, they were “around 0.0054% in the year 2000-01 dropping to 0.0003% in FY 2005-06, steadily rising to 0.0036% in the year 2008-09, and seen further showing a decreasing trend and reached 0.0017% during the year 2015-16, even though it is almost 50% of the currency in circulation by value basis.”
“I am at a loss”, says the blogger, to understand as to why the government decided to demonetize Rs 500 notes, which are showing a consistent decreasing trend since 2008-09. Also, the high value Rs 1,000 notes, which showed an increasing trend, became steady.”
Pointing towards another figure, the blogger reveals, the in an answer to an unstarred question, on August 5 last year, the Union finance minister replied, “A study on FICN issues, including estimation of FICN in circulation, has been undertaken by the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, under the overall supervision of National Investigation Agency (NIA). As per the study, the face value of FICN in circulation was found to be about Rs 400 crore.”
The minister insisted, “It was found the value remained constant for the last 4 years.”
Pointing out that Rs 400 crore is “only 0.02% of the currency in circulation”, Wilson says, “Though it is a small quantity, FICN is used for various subversive activities such as espionage, smuggling of arms, drugs and other contraband in India. As per the NIA probe, which has a Terror Funding and Fake Currency Cell, Pakistan is the major supplier of FICN in India.”
The blogger says, official sources further suggest, “the banking system detected around Rs 30 crore of FICN annually and law enforcement agencies seized around Rs 40 crore of FICN annually for the last couple of years.”
Thus, he says, “A total of around Rs 70 crore of FICN were detected during the last couple of years by the checks and balances in the system. So, if we take the ISI, Kolkota, study as a yard stick, only Rs 70 crore of FICN of the estimated quantity of Rs 400 crore, i.e., 17.5% of the FICN is seized by our systems.”
Meanwhile, says Wilson, the ISI, Kolkota which did the study of FICN, concluded that "the existing systems of seizure and detection are enough to flush out the quantum of FICN being infused". The institute, he adds, concluded that “if detection can be improved, the value of FICN in circulation can be reduced by at least 20% annually.”

Comments

Unknown said…
This Money counting and fake note detector Machine can detect fake currency! Do you rely on these devices?

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)

Outreach programme in medical education: Band-aids for compound fractures

By Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) of India, introduced two curricular changes in medical education, both at the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels, ostensibly to offer opportunities for quality medical education and to improve health care accessibility among the underserved rural and urban population.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.