The RTI also revealed the cost of printing the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that were demonetised on November 8, 2016.

Before he became Prime Minister, Narendra Modi vowed to bring all illicit money stashed away in foreign countries, and promised that poor people in the country would get Rs 15 lakh each.

Over Rs 29.41 crore was spent on using the Indian Air Force's ultra-modern transport aircraft -- the C-17 and the C-130J Super Hercules -- to ferry the newly-issued Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 currency notes post-demonetisation.

The first note was printed in 1917 on this day and had the image of King George V. It also had the signatures of three British finance secretaries - MMS Gubbay, AC McWatters and H Denning - and every note is signed by the finance secretary.

The government is in talks with RBI for transferring Rs 13, 140 crore which the bank had transferred to its contingency fund this year. The RBI paid a reduced dividend of Rs 30,659 crore in 2016-17 whereas the Union Budget had projected Rs 74,901 crore this year.

The government too received a lesser dividend from the central bank as compared to what it received in the previous financial year. RBI transfered a meagre Rs 30,659 crore as dividend to the government for the year ended June 2017, which is less than half of what it gave to government a year ago.

After a long-long time, the Indian economy is managing with less cash. That is what the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) annual report for 2016-17 reveals.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday released its annual report which gave out figures on demonetised currency notes that came back to the system.

In a response to a query under the Right to Information Act, 2005, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (P) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), informed that the last-stage production of Rs 500 note was on October 27, 2016.

Interestingly even as the nation is pitching in for India first policy to crackdown on the blackmoney with this bold move, the new notes being printed are not 100 percent made in India.

Pronab Sen, an economist and former chairman of the National Statistical Commission, is one of the voices that has criticised the government's move saying that the negative impacts would far outweigh the likely benefits.

Arthakranti Pratishthan, an NGO based out of a nondescript rental flat in a predominantly residential Rambaug Colony, some 20 km from Pune Airport, is now gaining global attention. Considered to be the brain behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move of scrapping old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the think tank stands for a complete overhaul of India's taxation system. In an exclusive interview with Joe Mathew, Anil S. Bokil, an engineer-turned-economic thinker, the chief architect of Arthakranti Proposal, talks about the merits of demonetisation and how it can lead to a black money free-cashless economy, if the government adopts all of the NGO's proposals. Excerpts:

For Indian farmer Buddha Singh, who works a small plot of land in the village of Bajna south of New Delhi, the government's decision to abolish 500 and 1,000 rupee bank notes to crush the shadow economy could hardly have come at a worse time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock announcement to demonetise the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency overnight was primarily aimed at catching those who hoard black and illegitimate money in these denominations off-guard. The sudden announcement and its implementation within four hours of the speech may have prevented flight or conversion of such money into other asset classes, but it has also resulted in a lot of collateral damage.

China's surprise decision to devalue its currency-the Yuan-this month by around 3 per cent has sparked a wave of financial market volatility.

Chief economists Madan Sabnavis of CARE Ratings and Ajit Ranade of Aditya Birla Group give an outlook for the Indian rupee for the year 2015.

Events that made news this fortnight -

The Indian rupee was among the worst performing currencies this year, hitting a record low of 68.85 against the dollar due to the weak domestic economy and speculation over scaling back of stimulus, or extra printing of notes, by the US.

One of the world’s favourite holiday destinations, the Maldives is sinking rapidly. This is probably your last chance to see these magical islands. Go pack your bags.