Despite the increase in transactions through UPI, currency circulation is increasing rapidly in the country, circulation reached Rs 40 lakh crore.

Mumbai, 16 February. Currency circulation in the country has increased to a record close to Rs 40 lakh crore by the end of January 2026. It has seen a growth of 11.1 percent on an annual basis, which was 5.3 percent in the same period last year. This information was given in a report released on Monday. SBI Research report said that the share of currency with the public (CWP) in the total currency circulation has reached 97.6 percent (about Rs 39 lakh crore).

It was told in the report that due to UPI, digital transactions have increased rapidly in the country and due to this there has been a big decline in the cash-to-GDP ratio. According to the report, “The value of UPI transactions in the country in a month is about Rs 28 lakh crore, which is about 70 percent of the total currency stock of the country, which shows that a large number of people in the country are using digital payments.” At the same time, the country’s cash-to-GDP ratio has come down to 11 percent in FY 26, which was 14.4 percent in FY 21.

“The direction of change in currency and GDP may be similar, but GDP growth is now driven more by UPI rather than cash,” the report said. Due to the cut in CRR, there was a decline of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in ‘bankers’ deposits with RBI’ in the current financial year, resulting in the growth of reserve money slowing down to 5.8 per cent. A recent report by SBI Research said deposits and loans in banks grew almost three times between FY2015 and FY2025, indicating strengthening of the banking system and improvement in credit intermediation.

During FY 2015 to FY 2025, deposits have increased from Rs 85.3 lakh crore to Rs 241.5 lakh crore and loans have increased from Rs 67.4 lakh crore to Rs 191.2 lakh crore. The report said the asset growth rate of banks increased from 77 per cent of GDP to 94 per cent by FY2025, reflecting improvement in financial strengthening.