When asked if the price of counterfeit Indian currency notes has increased since demonetization in 2016, Chaudhary responded in the negative. The fake currency has occasionally been discovered to have been trafficked from neighbouring nations, according to the agencies' findings, the minister added.
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"While notes seized by different law enforcement agencies have gone up, there is a discernable trend of reduction in the number of counterfeit notes detected in the banking system," he said.
Additionally, the amount of fake currency has decreased from 7.62 lakh pieces in 2016–17 to 2.08 lakh pieces in 2020–21. The government's move to revoke the legal tender status of currency notes in the denominations of ₹1,000 and ₹500 on November 8, 2016, the minister claimed, has resulted in a decrease in the quantity of counterfeit banknotes.
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To counter the smuggling of fake notes, a joint task force is functioning between India and Bangladesh for building trust and cooperation for the exchange of information and analysis of smugglers of FICN. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Indian and Bangladesh to prevent and counter the smuggling and circulation of fake currency notes.
In addition, training programmes are conducted for the police officials of Nepal and Bangladesh to sensitise them about smuggling or counterfeiting of Indian currency, the minister replied.
(With ANI inputs)
