Circulation of fake currency notes in the country continues to pose a challenge six years after the 2016 demonetisation, one of whose key objectives was to eradicate the counterfeiting of notes.

According to a report of the National Crime Control Bureau, fake currency with a face value of Rs 245.33 crore has been seized by law enforcement agencies across the country since 2016.

The highest amount of fake currency with a face value of Rs 92.17 crore was seized in 2020, while the lowest with a face value of Rs 15.92 crore was seized in 2016.

In 2021, fake currency with a face value of Rs 20.39 crore was seized. The figure for 2019 was Rs 34.79 crore, for 2018 was Rs 26.35 crore and for 2017 was Rs 55.71 crore, the NCRB data showed.

According to the RBI annual report published in May 2022, the number of fake currency notes of Rs 500 denomination detected by the banking system more than doubled to 79,669 pieces in the 2021-22 financial year over the previous year.

The number of counterfeit notes of Rs 2,000 denomination detected in the system was 13,604 pieces during 2021-22, up 54.6 per cent from the preceding financial year.