Briefing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance about demonetisation, the Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel has said that discussions between the central bank and the government over the demonetisation issue began in early 2016. He also said that about Rs 9.2 lakh crore have been reintroduced in the economy since the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were demonetised on November 8, 2016.
The crucial meeting was held to discuss the demonetisation of the currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 and the impact thereof. During the meeting, Congress members of the committee asked questions like whose decision it was to withdraw high currency notes and also raised questions about the autonomy of the RBI. The questions put up by the panel ranged from the total amount of money that came back during the demonetisation period, the total amount of new bills of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 that were printed, what how much was sent to the banks for remonetisation.
However, Patel refused to answer the questions on how much money has been deposited in banks since the move was announced and said that calculations were still on. Therefore, the finance ministry has sought time from the panel to provide answers to the queries raised during the meeting in which the finance secretary made a presentation before the committee as the members seemed not too satisfied with the replies. Patel is also scheduled to appear before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on the same issue on January 20.