RBI says India’s cash demand grows despite digital payments surge
Deputy governor Shirish Chandra Murmu highlights persistent cash use in rural areas and among low-income groups
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
An employee counts Indian currency notes inside a private money exchange office in New Delhi
Photograph: The Economic Times (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Shirish Chandra Murmu said cash remains a significant payment mode in India despite rapid digital adoption.
- Currency in circulation continues to grow at double-digit rates, even as cash’s share of transactions declines due to digital payments.
- The RBI produces up to 30 billion banknotes annually and is piloting polymer notes for lower denominations, aiming for a 2027-28 rollout.
- Demand for cash is particularly strong in rural areas, among low-income groups, older people, and small businesses.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 8 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 10 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
78/100
Craft
85/100
Hype
15/100
10 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 8 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Shirish Chandra Murmu said cash remains a significant payment mode in India, despite the rapid adoption of digital payments. Speaking at a Bank Indonesia event in Jakarta on 13 August 2026, Murmu noted that currency in circulation continues to grow at double-digit rates, even as cash’s share of individual transactions declines.
Murmu said demand for cash is particularly strong in rural and semi-urban areas, among low-income groups, older people, and small businesses. India currently has about 176 billion banknotes in circulation, with the RBI producing up to 30 billion notes annually using domestic mills and printing presses. The central bank is piloting polymer banknotes for lower denominations, aiming for a rollout by 2027-28.
The RBI uses a five-year forward projection to estimate currency demand, factoring in transactional demand and replacement requirements. Murmu said the persistence of cash alongside digital payments has created what the RBI calls a ‘cash paradox’, complicating planning for production and distribution capacity.
What the coverage left out
No left-rated outlet ran this story. None of the right-rated digests mentioned the RBI’s pilot of polymer banknotes for lower denominations or its efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the cash cycle. The centre-rated reports carried both details.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 18 Aug 2026, 16:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- Live Mint and The Economic Times, the two centre-rated outlets that published full reports, led on the RBI’s challenge in predicting future cash demand. Live Mint quoted Murmu’s speech directly, framing cash as central to monetary sovereignty. It reported the RBI’s pilot of polymer banknotes and the scale of India’s currency ecosystem, including the annual production and disposal of banknotes.
- The Economic Times focused on the difficulty of forecasting demand amid the ‘cash paradox’. It reported Murmu’s comparison of India’s banknote circulation with that of the US and eurozone, noting that India’s higher volume is partly due to a denomination mix weighted toward lower-value notes. Both outlets carried Murmu’s remarks on the RBI’s efforts to improve note durability and reduce the carbon footprint of the cash cycle.
Right
5 rated outlets
- The five right-rated digests led on the persistence of cash demand despite digital payment growth. Deccan Chronicle, rediff.com, Moneycontrol, Times of India, and The Hindu Business Line each reported that currency in circulation continues to grow at double-digit rates. The Hindu Business Line and Deccan Chronicle used the phrase ‘cash still king’ in their headlines.
- The digests carried Murmu’s observation that cash demand is particularly strong in rural areas, among low-income groups, and small businesses. None of the right-rated digests mentioned the RBI’s pilot of polymer banknotes or the central bank’s sustainability efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the cash cycle.
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
3- India's Digital Payments Boom Fails to Dent Demand for ... (opens Bloomberg in a new tab)
- Despite digital surge, cash remains India's crucial payment mode: RBI's Murmu (opens Live Mint in a new tab)
- RBI finds cash demand harder to predict as digital payments grow (opens The Economic Times in a new tab)
The Economic Times — is The Economic Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
5- Mumbai: Cash In Circulation Has Not Declined Despite Rapid Growth In Digital Payments: RBI Deputy Governor Murmu (opens Deccan Chronicle in a new tab)
Deccan Chronicle — is Deccan Chronicle biased? Our profile of this outlet
- RBI Deputy Governor Highlights 'Cash Paradox' Amid Digital Payment Surge (opens rediff.com in a new tab)
rediff.com — is rediff.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Digital payments are booming, but RBI says cash demand is getting harder to predict (opens Moneycontrol in a new tab)
Moneycontrol — is Moneycontrol biased? Our profile of this outlet
- RBI finds cash demand harder to predict as digital payments grow (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Cash still king in India despite digital boom, says RBI Deputy Governor Murmu (opens The Hindu Business Line in a new tab)
The Hindu Business Line — is The Hindu Business Line biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
2- Cash in circulation continues to rise in India despite digital payments surge: RBI Deputy Governor (opens Yes Punjab in a new tab)
Yes Punjab — is Yes Punjab biased? Our profile of this outlet
- India’s Cash In Circulation On Rise Even Amid Surge In Digital Payments: RBI Deputy Governor (opens Ommcom News in a new tab)
Ommcom News — is Ommcom News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover RBI says India’s cash demand grows despite digital payments surge?
- Of the 8 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 37% are rated centre, 63% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 10. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is RBI says India’s cash demand grows despite digital payments surge left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 8 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of RBI says India’s cash demand grows despite digital payments surge biased?
- RBI says India’s cash demand grows despite digital payments surge is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting RBI says India’s cash demand grows despite digital payments surge?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered RBI says India’s cash demand grows despite digital payments surge?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why is cash demand still growing in India despite digital payments?
- Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Shirish Chandra Murmu said cash demand remains strong in rural areas, among low-income groups, older people, and small businesses. Currency in circulation continues to grow at double-digit rates even as digital payments expand, creating what the RBI calls a ‘cash paradox’.
- How many banknotes are in circulation in India?
- India currently has about 176 billion banknotes in circulation, according to Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Shirish Chandra Murmu. The RBI produces up to 30 billion notes annually using domestic mills and printing presses.
- What is the RBI doing to improve banknote durability?
- The Reserve Bank of India is piloting polymer banknotes for lower denominations, aiming for a rollout by 2027-28. Murmu said the central bank is also exploring surface coatings and other methods to extend the life of banknotes.
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