Mumbai: As many as 98.04 percent of the Rs 2000 banknotes which were in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have now been returned, with the total value of such notes outside the banking system coming down to Rs 6970 crore at the close of business on October 31, 2024, according to a reserve Bank of India (RBI) update on Monday.
The total value of these banknotes in circulation was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of Rs 2000 banknotes was announced, meaning less than 2 percent are still in circulation.
The Rs 2000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.
The facility for exchanging Rs 2000 banknotes has been available at the 19 RBI Issue Offices since May 19, 2023. Since October 9, 2023, RBI Issue Offices have also accepted Rs 2000 banknotes from individuals /entities for deposit into their bank accounts. Further, members of the public are sending Rs 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office within the country to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts, the official statement explained.
The RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 banknotes from circulation on May 19, 2023. The central bank periodically publishes the status of the withdrawal. The last press release in this regard was published on October 1, 2024. The facility for depositing or exchanging Rs 2000 banknotes was available at all bank branches in the country until October 7, 2023.
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The Rs 2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 primarily to expedite the economy’s currency requirement after the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time was withdrawn. With the fulfilment of that objective and the availability of banknotes in adequate quantities in other denominations, the printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19.
The majority of the Rs 2000 banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and were at the end of their estimated life span of 4-5 years. This denomination is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations was considered to be adequate to meet the public’s currency requirement.
Given this and in pursuance of the RBI’s ‘Clean Note Policy’, the RBI had stated at the time of the withdrawal that it had decided to withdraw the Rs 2000 denomination banknote from circulation. The RBI’s clean note policy aims to ensure the availability of good-quality banknotes to members of the public.
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–IANS
