Was demonetisation required? 97% banned currency in banks, claims report. Here’s what Jaitley said

If reports are to be believed, about 97% of the demonetised notes have been deposited back into banks, whereas the main motive behind cash ban was clamping down on black money hoarders. This means all the black money has now ended in the banks.

As per a report by Bloomberg, Rs 15 lakh crore have been accounted for in deposits and this means that black money hoarders have successfully deposited their black money in banks without getting caught.

When asked about the report, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told NDTV, “I don't know.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared old Rs 1000 and Rs 500 currency notes as illegal tender and set a deadline of December 30 to exchange or deposit the old notes at bank branches and post offices, which is long over now.

Neither the government nor the Reserve Bank of India have officially disclosed how much of the demonetized currency has been returned. On December 14, the RBI said that about Rs 12.5 lakh crore had been deposited.

On 31st December, the RBI had asked all banks to report details of deposits of old Rs. 500 and 1,000 notes after the close of banking hours and the Finance Ministry said recently that it had asked for a recount to avoid double-counting.

Modi has recently been praised by the experts and the public for his intent to crackdown on corruption and tax evasion, the cash shortage that followed demonetisation has been seized by the opposition to allege that it is the honest and common man rather than the corrupt rich who have been punished by the radical reform.