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Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported on Monday that nearly 97.69 percent of the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes have been returned to the banking system and only Rs 8,202 crore worth of the withdrawn notes are in public circulation.
The withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes was announced by the RBI on May 19, 2023. At that time, the total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation amounted to Rs 3.56 lakh crore. However, as of March 29, 2024, this value has significantly declined to Rs 8,202 crore, indicating a substantial reduction in the presence of these notes in circulation, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement.
“Thus, 97.69 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, has since been returned,” it added.
The Rs 2,000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.
People can deposit or exchange Rs 2000 banknotes at 19 RBI offices
Individuals have the option to deposit or exchange Rs 2000 banknotes at 19 RBI offices nationwide. They can also utilize India Post services to send these notes from any post office to any RBI Issue Office for credit to their bank accounts in India.
Initially, public and private entities holding such notes were instructed to exchange or deposit them in bank accounts by September 30, 2023. This deadline was later extended to October 7, 2023, after which deposit and exchange services at bank branches ceased.
From October 8, 2023, individuals have been given the choice to either exchange the currency or have the equivalent amount credited to their bank accounts at the 19 RBI offices located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram.
The introduction of Rs 2000 banknotes occurred in November 2016, following the demonetisation of the then-existing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 banknotes.
What was RBI’s guidelines for Rs 2000 notes?
People from within the country can send Rs 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office in the country to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts in India. September 30 was initially decided as the last date to complete the exchange and deposit exercise in a time-bound manner and to provide adequate time to the public. People were requested to utilise the month of September to deposit or exchange their Rs 2000 banknotes to avoid any rush at the last moment.
However, the RBI, based on a review, decided to extend the arrangement for deposit and exchange until October 7, 2023. The Rs 2000 banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirements of the economy expeditiously after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time.
(With PTI inputs)
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