New Delhi: In the last three years i. e. from 2019 to 2021, fake currency notes worth over Rs 137 crore have been seized by the police and other security forces. The high value of counterfeit currency being caught each year signals an increase in their circulation in the country.

Among the Rs 137,96,17,270 fake currency caught in the last three years, new notes of Rs 2,000 also amounted to crores in face value. Fake currency is mostly traded or smuggled from Pakistan and is sent to India across the border among other routes.
Fake currency seized in last 3 years
According to the Home Ministry data, fake notes of face value Rs 137,96,17,270 were caught from 2019 to 2021. In 2021, 3,10,066 lakh fake notes worth over Rs 20 crore were seized while as many as 8,34,947 lakh fake notes having a face value of over Rs 92 crore were confiscated in 2020. The number of fake notes caught in 2019 was 2,87,404 lakh worth over Rs 25 crore.
Rs 500, Rs 2,000 fake notes in circulation
Counterfeit currency of the denominations of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 were seized in large amounts in the last three years, according to the Home Ministry. In 2021, fake Rs 2,000 notes worth over Rs 4 crore were seized while the face value of fake Rs 500 was Rs 12,57,99,000 crore.
During the Covid pandemic year in 2020, as many as 2,44,834 lakh notes of Rs 2,000 were confiscated while 90,566,000 fake notes in 2019.
The MHA apprised that the figures did not indicate any specific pattern regarding the circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).
The Reserve Bank of India has prepared a strategy to curb counterfeit notes, reportedly taking various measures, including raising security standards on bank notes, to make counterfeiting difficult and costly and organising awareness programmes for the public.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR