The ₹100 note is the most counterfeited Indian currency, with its popularity among forgers having surged since the government invalidated high-value banknotes about two years ago to curb the menace of fake notes and unaccounted wealth.
Around 46% of counterfeit currencies (by number of banknotes) detected by banks in the year ended 31 March was of ₹100 denomination, while counterfeit notes of ₹2,000 and ₹500 put together were at 29% of the total pieces, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) FY18 annual report.
In the previous year, ₹500 notes were the most counterfeited, accounting for 41% of all fake currencies detected.
The withdrawal of the ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes in November 2016, however, seems to have put the brakes on counterfeiters, with detection of fake notes dropping 31% in the year ended 31 March from the previous year, the annual report said.
However, there was a rise of 35% in counterfeit notes detected of ₹100 denomination from a year earlier.
