Patna: Banks mobilised Rs 42,000 crore as deposits in Bihar during the period in which the demonetisation debate was reverberating across the state.

Of this amount, bankers attribute deposits of around Rs 25,000 crore to the November 8, 2016, announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that rendered currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations illegal tender.

The announcement led to the common people flocking to bank branches to deposit their demonetised notes and also to withdraw valid currency notes, including new ones of 500 and 2,000 denominations introduced by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The rush was seen at ATMs too.

"Normally deposits in a state like Bihar see an increase of Rs 15,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore in a financial year, but we collected Rs 42,000 crore in just six months between September 2016 and March 2017. This phenomenon was an effect of demonetisation. We think Rs 25,000 crore of this was entirely due to demonetisation," a top official from the State Bank of India (SBI) told The Telegraph on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The assertion is corroborated by data maintained by the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC). The total deposits with 36 commercial, cooperative and regional rural banks across 6,897 branches in Bihar stood at Rs 2.38 lakh crore in September 2016. It rose to Rs 2.80 lakh crore in March 2017.

In the six months prior to this, deposits in Bihar had actually seen a decline. It came down from Rs 2.40 lakh crore in March 2016 to Rs 2.38 lakh crore in September 2016.

March 31, 2017, was the last date for depositing demonetised notes in bank branches for certain categories of people, including those who were outside the country when the ban came into effect.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, who has asserted that one of the aims of demonetisation was to work towards a less-cash economy, should be smiling.

The number of ATM cards in Bihar rose from 3.8 crore on September 30, 2016,, to 4.9 crore as of September 30, 2017 - an increase of 1.1 crore.

The major portion of this increase was registered between September 30, 2016, and March 31, 2017, when the numbers rose from 3.8 crore to 4.71 crore - a good 91 lakh ATM cards.