Modi cash ban a ‘total failure’ as 99% of banned notes back

Back to the bank: Protestors holding placards of banned 500 and 1000 rupee notes in Mumbai. The bulk of banned notes have been returned to the Indian central bank. — AFP

MUMBAI: Indians have deposited nearly all the currency bills voided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, denting the central bank’s profit and dealing a blow to his drive to unearth unaccounted wealth.

Banks have received 15.28 trillion rupees (US$239bil), or 99% of the currency invalidated, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its annual report on Wednesday. The government had initially estimated about 5 trillion rupees wouldn’t be declared following the sudden move on Nov 9, indicating that this was cash stashed away illegally to avoid tax. The cash ban prompted the central bank to print new currency, reducing its profit and cutting annual dividend payout to the government by half.