NEW DELHI: According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as of March 2022, currency notes worth Rs 31.33 lakh crore were in circulation in India. This represents a significant increase from the Rs 13 lakh crore in circulation in 2014. The currency in circulation includes both banknotes and coins, and constituted 13.7% of the country’s GDP on March 25, 2022, an increase from 11.6% in March 2014, according to news agency PTI.
Following the demonetisation in March 2017, the figure for currency in circulation dropped to Rs 13.35 lakh crore. In March 2016, it was Rs 16.63 lakh crore. It subsequently increased to Rs 18.29 lakh crore in March 2018, Rs 21.36 lakh crore in March 2019, and Rs 24.47 lakh crore in March 2020. At the end of March 2021 and 2022, the figures were Rs 28.53 lakh crore and Rs 31.33 lakh crore, respectively.
The government’s aim is to move towards a less cash-dependent economy in order to reduce black money and promote digital transactions. According to Sitharaman, the demonetisation of November 2016 was intended to combat the use of counterfeit notes, unaccounted hoarding of high denomination notes, and activities such as drug trafficking and terrorism.