Cash crunch may be due to introduction of Rs 200 notes: SBI research

An SBI research has pegged the cash shortfall in the system at Rs 70,000 crore. A 9.8 per cent nominal GDP growth would have taken the currency available with the public to Rs 19.4 trillion by March 2018, as against the actual availability of Rs 17.5 trillion, it said, stressing that the gap of Rs 1.9 trillion is not the shortfall.

The proportion of digital transactions stands at a low Rs 1.2 trillion only, much down the immediate months following the November 2016 decision on demonetisation.

Further, the report also said that the currency in circulation has breached the pre-note ban levels of Rs 17.84 trillion and added that such reports are "intriguing and defy logic".

The report explains that a part of the reason why the shortage is being felt could be the introduction and faster-acceleration in printing Rs 200 notes.

"This may have altered the demand for smaller denomination notes in a larger way to possibly substitute for the currency of larger denominations," it said. The RBI had on Tuesday attributed the shortage to "logistical issues".