The amount of currency in circulation in financial year 2019 was ₹21.1trillion, 17% higher than the previous year, according to the Reserve Bank of India's annual report .
The following charts take a look at the state of cash in circulation and cashless transactions in the country.
₹500s top the list
Since demonetisation (financial year 2017), there has been a sharp spike in the number, and consequently the cumulative value, of ₹500 rupee notes, while the number of ₹2000 notes in circulation has come down. The graph below shows the total value of currency in circulation and the value of ₹100s, ₹500s and ₹2000s over the years.
₹500 notes now make up half the value of total currency notes in circulation, with ₹2000s making up 31% of the total currency value.
Fake currency dips
The value of counterfeit notes detected reached a peak during the year of demonetisation and has been falling since. However, this is mainly due to a large number of fake ₹1,000 notes detected that year.
According to the RBI report, counterfeit notes in the denomination of ₹500 (new design notes) increased by 121%, while for the ₹2000 denomination, such notes increased by 21.9% during 2018-19. The 100 rupee counterfeit notes declined by 7.5% but it remained the denomination with the highest number of counterfeits (amounting to 70% of total counterfeits detected).
Cashless on the rise
While people's reliance on cash has not decreased, the number of cashless transactions has also been on the rise. The following charts show the increase in the number of card transactions (credit, debit and prepaid payment instruments) and UPI transactions.
