New Delhi. There are repeated complaints of shortage of small denomination notes of 10, 20 and 50 rupees in the market.
Now Congress MP Manikam Tagore has raised the issue of low availability of small notes in the market and alleged that the Reserve Bank of India has stopped printing these notes.
In a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Tagore said that there is a huge shortage of these notes in the market. Due to this, the poor in rural and urban areas are facing a lot of problems. He has also demanded the Finance Minister to take immediate steps to overcome the shortage of small denomination currency notes.
It is worth noting that the share of notes with a value of Rs 500 in the total currency in the financial year 2023-24 was 86.5 till March 2024. As of March 31, 2024, the highest number of 5.16 lakh notes of Rs 500 were present in terms of quantity, while Rs 10 notes stood second with 2.49 lakh numbers. However, complaints of shortage of small notes keep coming frequently. In the financial year 2023-24, the Reserve Bank had spent Rs 5,101 crore on note printing. At the same time, in the same period a year ago i.e. 2022-23, RBI had spent Rs 4,682 crore on note printing.
Manikam Tagore is a Congress MP from Virudhunagar constituency in Tamil Nadu. In a letter to the Finance Minister, Tagore wrote, “Mr. Finance, I would like to draw your attention to a serious issue that is affecting millions of citizens, especially in rural areas and urban poor communities. The severe shortage of currency notes of ₹ 10, ₹ 20 and ₹ 50 denominations has caused great inconvenience and difficulty.
Wrote a letter to Hon’ble Finance Minister @nsitharaman regarding the severe shortage of Rs. 10, 20, and 50 denomination notes, which is causing hardship in rural and urban poor communities. Urging for immediate intervention to resume 1/2 pic.twitter.com/NEYXsIOZ9d
— Manickam Tagore .B🇮🇳மாணிக்கம் தாகூர்.ப (@manickamtagore) September 21, 2024
” Tagore wrote in the letter that reports indicate that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stopped printing these notes to promote UPI and cashless transactions. He said that the effort to promote digital payments is understandable, but the move to stop printing small notes for this is affecting those who do not have access to digital payment infrastructure, especially in rural areas.
Violation of Fundamental Rights
Tagore wrote that this decision of the government violates the fundamental right of citizens to have access to currency. Small notes are essential for daily transactions. Due to their shortage, many difficulties are arising in front of small businesses, street vendors and daily wage earners, who are highly dependent on cash transactions.
Manikam Tagore demanded
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to direct RBI to resume printing and distribution of small denomination currency notes. Adequate supply of these notes should be ensured to meet public demand and measures should be taken to bridge the digital divide and improve access to digital payment infrastructure in rural areas. So that the difficulties of marginalized communities can be reduced.
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