No official estimate of fake currency in circulation: RBI

There is no official estimate of forged notes in circulation by any government agency, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clarified today. RBI also said the Nayak Committee, which was set up in 1988, to go into the dynamics of currency management, did not make any study of fake notes and did not give any figure relating to such notes. Rather the committee had, in its report, estimated the value of notes in circulation (genuine notes) in the year 2000 at  Rs1,69,000 crore, RBI said in a release.

The number of forged notes detected by the banking system, including the Reserve Bank, in 2007-2008 was 1,95,811 among 44,225 million note pieces in circulation (or four notes in one million notes in circulation), according to data released by the RBI.

RBI data published in its annual report show that the forged notes detected among total notes in circulation in India has been between three and six notes per million since 2000-2001.

"Some newspapers have been erroneously quoting Nayak Committee report for estimates of forged currency notes in circulation in India," the central bank added.