Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said on Twitter that no new Rs 1,000 currency notes would be introduced as legal tender and the focus is currently on the "production and supply of Rs 500 and lower denomination notes."
"In the next few months, Rs 1,000 notes will be brought in with a new dimension and design. All denominations of currency notes will be reintroduced with new design and features. The process was on for the last few months; only 2-3 people in RBI were involved in designing of notes," Das had said at the inauguration of the two-day Economic Editors Conference 2016 in New Delhi in November, 2016.
The Indian Express had also quoted a government official on Tuesday saying the new Rs 1,000 notes would be "back in few months" and the printing of notes has already begun. The official added that the initial plan was to introduce the Rs 1,000 note in January 2017 but the increased demand for the Rs 500 note delayed the process.
However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on November 17 denied reports on the reintroduction of Rs 1,000 notes into the banking system.
"Complaints of cash out in ATMs being addressed. Request everyone to draw the cash they actually require. Overdrawal by some deprives others. Enough cash available. Logistics issues of reloading ATMs more frequently being addressed," Das further tweeted.
The Centre seems to be speaking in two voices on the matter. Das' flip-flop is emblematic of the u-turns the government has taken on some fiscal policies, the most significant of them being demonetisation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his decision to demonetise old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 on November 8, 2016, in an attempt to curb the menace of black money in the country. The Centre had also claimed that the move would help curb terrorism and counterfeit money. However, fake notes of Rs 2,000 have been seized from several locations across India.
