No shortage of currency notes now, says Jaitley

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 17

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said normalcy has been restored within few weeks of the “world’s biggest exercise of demonetisation” of the currency in circulation and there is no shortage of notes in market.

Speaking at the foundation day celebrations of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd. (SPMCIL), he said SPMCIL played an important role in the world’s biggest exercise of demonetisation. He added that when history of demonetisation is written, a chapter will be written on SPMCIL.

Currency note printing presses of RBI and SPMCIL have worked without break to remonetise by issuing new bank notes, he said.

The Finance Minister said the easiest task during demonetisation was to pass comments and make snide remarks. “But the toughest work is to implement it. This is perhaps the biggest demonetisation drive in the world that was aimed at striking at the very root of corruption, black money and counterfeit currency,” he said.

Stating that people often commented that it may take up to one year or at least seven months to restore normalcy, he said the task has been achieved within few weeks.

“Normalcy has been restored within few weeks and there is no shortage of bank notes in market for even a day,” he said.

He said this was possible because of exemplary work done by printing presses of RBI and SPMCIL who kept the supply line going.

Secretary Economic Affairs, Shaktikanta Das, praised the employees of SPMCIL for rising to the occasion to print Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currency notes, working three shifts a day during remonetisation. He added that SPMCIL organised air lifting of currency notes from its Nashik and Dewas units.