RBI: Over 97% of ₹ 2,000 notes returned since May 2023.

Photo-The Hindu

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on March 1 that approximately ₹8,470 crore worth of ₹2,000 banknotes are still in circulation among the public. This constitutes around 97.62% of the total withdrawn notes that have been returned to the banking system. Notably, the RBI had declared the withdrawal of ₹2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation on May 19 of the previous year.

According to the official statement released by the RBI, individuals and entities have the option to exchange or deposit the ₹2,000 banknotes at the 19 Issue Offices of the Reserve Bank since May 19, 2023. Additionally, from October 9, 2023, the RBI Issue Offices have been accepting ₹2,000 banknotes from individuals and entities for deposit into their bank accounts. Furthermore, members of the public can send ₹2,000 banknotes through India Post from any post office within the country to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts. These 19 RBI offices are situated across various cities in India.

Initially, the deadline for exchanging or depositing the withdrawn notes in bank accounts was set for September 30, 2023, but it was later extended to October 7 of the same year. On October 7, 2023, deposit and exchange services for ₹2,000 notes at bank branches were discontinued. However, from October 8, 2023, individuals were given the option to either exchange the currency or have the equivalent sum credited to their bank accounts, which can be done at the 19 offices of the RBI.

Providing further insight, the RBI shared that the total value of ₹2,000 banknotes in circulation, which was ₹3.56 lakh crore as of May 19, 2023, has decreased to ₹8,470 crore as of February 29, 2024. This signifies that 97.62% of the ₹2,000 banknotes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have been returned, while reaffirming that ₹2,000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.

The introduction of ₹2,000 banknotes took place in November 2016, following the demonetisation of the then-prevailing ₹1,000 and ₹500 banknotes.