Parl Standing Committee grills RBI Guv, Guv skips tough ones

Addressing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance held on January 19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urjit Patel failed to answer most of the tough questions pertaining to demonetisation. He also did not share any figure on how much money of Rs 15.44 lakh crore demonetised money has returned into the system, according to certain media reports. 

The Reserve Bank last month said Rs 12.44 lakh crore of old currency has come into the system till December 10 following which the Finance Ministry, disputing the figure citing possible double-counting, had called to recheck the data. 

Patel also evaded a question by Digvijaya Singh, Congress MP on whether the banking system would collapse if restrictions on the withdrawal of money are removed. The only new information Patel provided the committee is that Rs 9.2 trillion worth new currencies of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 have been injected since November 8. He also added that the counting of old notes is still underway and it would not be possible to share details yet. 

The central bank also did not give a specific data as to when the fresh data on collection of old notes would be released. However, sources hinted that the committee will hold another meeting with the RBI members post first session of Budget on February 9. The governor will next depose before the public accounts committee (PAC), which audits revenue and expenditure of the government on January 20. However, no definite answer was given on timeline for relaxation on withdrawal limits.