DID GOVT INSTRUCT BANKS TO PHASE OUT RS 2,000 NOTES GRADUALLY? NIRMALA SITHARAMAN FINALLY CLEARS AIR!

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government did not issue any instruction to the banks to phase out 2,000 denomination currency note.

"As far as I know, no such instruction has been given," the finance minister said.

In an RTI response last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that the central bank had stopped printing Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes. Confusions further mounted when reports of ATMs dispensing more of Rs 500 notes than Rs 2,000 notes surfaced.

Sources said that despite not getting any instruction from the Finance minsitry, banks have started filling their ATMs with smaller denomination notes for the convenience of customers.

Replying to a question on this regard in Parliament, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur in December said, "This is the real worry (about demonetisation) which has surfaced now. I think that you should not worry about it."