40 days see Rs 3Lakh crore put into 2 cr new accounts, says FIU data

Forty days witnessed over two crore new bank accounts, and over Rs 3 lakh crore new deposits — that’s the big bang demonetisation impact.

Data from the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) show that between November 15 and December 25, 2016, 2.10 crore bank accounts were created and over Rs 3 lakh crore was deposited in them. Of the amount deposited, around Rs50,000 crore was cash deposit, and Rs3 lakh crore was non-cash deposit (cheques, drafts, etc).

Top officials closely involved with demonetisation policy spoke about the Centre’s current assessment of the November 8 announcement last year.

These officials spoke off the record. The FIU data was asked for and studied by the government to analyse the impact of declaring high-value notes illegal tender. Officials also said the fact that a huge proportion of extinguished cash has come back into the system is not a sign of failure but a testament to the policy’s success in formalising the economy.

A senior official who was involved in the currency strategy from its inception told that “the amount of money that has come back wouldn’t have come back even in the next five years”.

He said after two years, only 20 crore bank accounts under Jan Dhan were opened, but post demonetisation, “with no extra effort, we have seen around three crore new bank accounts getting opened in a month.” This official said the rush of money coming in shows black money holders had no choice but to enter the banking system since the other two options were buying gold or destroying old high denomination notes.

The officials also said the government is convinced that a start has been made in creating a major behavioural change. Black money is now considered costly, another official said. More policies aimed at changing preference for gold and data-backed smart scrutiny of banks accounts that identify suspicious activities are being planned, officials said.

A close look at the taxation system is a so on. But officials said the decision on income tax slabs will depend on signalling priorities of the budget. A large public spending programme accompanied by tax rationalisation are among the strategies being discussed, officials said.