The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) disclosed on Monday that nearly 97.69 percent of the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes have re-entered the banking system, leaving only Rs 8,202 crore worth of these notes still in circulation among the public.
The decision to withdraw Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation was announced by the RBI on May 19, 2023.
As per the RBI statement, the total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation stood at Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the end of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal was declared. This amount has now dwindled to Rs 8,202 crore as of the close of business on March 29, 2024.
The statement further elaborated, "Hence, 97.69 percent of the Rs 2000 banknotes that were in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have been returned."
It's important to note that Rs 2,000 banknotes are still considered legal tender.
Individuals have the option to deposit or exchange Rs 2000 banknotes at 19 RBI offices located across the country. Additionally, they can also utilize India Post services to send Rs 2000 banknotes from any post office to any RBI Issue Office for crediting the amount to their bank accounts in India.
Initially, both public and private entities were instructed to either exchange or deposit these notes in bank accounts by September 30, 2023, which was later extended to October 7, 2023. Deposit and exchange services at bank branches ceased on October 7, 2023.
Since 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 any of the 19 RBI offices.
These 19 RBI offices offering depositing/exchanging services for the banknotes are situated 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 dates back to November 2016, post the demonetisation of the then-existing Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes.
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