The government is now focusing on printing 500 rupee notes, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said today, hours before a deadline for using old 500 and 1000 rupee notes at petrol pumps and some other facilities ends. From midnight to December 30, old notes can only be deposited in banks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 banned the high value notes to combat black money and money laundering and has since aggressively pitched transitioning to a cashless economy.
