No proposal to stop supply of Rs 500 notes: MoS Finance

New Delhi: There is no proposal to stop supply of Rs 500 denomination banknotes and ATMs will continue disbursing Rs 500 alongside Rs 100 or Rs 200, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Parliament on Tuesday.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed that as part of their endeavour to enhance public access to frequently used denominations of banknotes, a circular titled 'Dispensation of Rs 100 and Rs 200 denomination banknotes through ATMs' has been issued on April 28, 2025, directing all banks and White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs) to ensure that their ATMs dispense Rs 100 and Rs 200 denomination banknotes on a regular basis, he said.

In a written response to the Rajya Sabha, he said, as per the milestones set by the RBI, 75 per cent of all ATMs would dispense either Rs 100 or Rs 200 denomination banknotes from at least one cassette by September 30, 2025.

By March 31, 2026, he said, 90 per cent of all ATMs would dispense either Rs 100 or Rs 200 denomination banknotes from at least one cassette.

Replying to another question, Chaudhary said Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has taken up 76 cases during the period from April 2020 to March 2025 or the last five financial years.

During the last financial year, SEBI received Rs 949.43 crore from disgorgement.

Disgorgement refers to the act of compelling a person or entity to surrender any ill-gotten gains obtained through illegal or unethical practices in the securities market.

"Fraud and cheating are punishable offences as per Indian laws. Several central government, enforcement, and regulatory agencies have been taking action to prevent, detect, and act against investment related frauds," he said.

In the last five years, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has identified nine cases, primarily relating to multi-level marketing (MLM) scams, he said.

During the period from January 1, 2020 to July 30, 2025, the Directorate of Enforcement has taken up around 220 cases for investigation of the offence of money-laundering under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), related to investment related frauds, he said.

Crypto assets are currently not regulated in India, he said, adding that the RBI-SACHET portal receives complaints pertaining to unauthorised deposit taking activities from unregistered/unincorporated entities.

Between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2025, approximately 3,454 complaints have been received on the SACHET Portal pertaining to "non-repayment of money collected from various kinds of investment schemes", and 1,531 complaints have been received pertaining to collection of money through MLM, direct selling, and ponzi schemes, based on complaint categories selected by complainants, he said.

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