Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed on Friday that approximately 97.62% of the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes have re-entered the banking system, leaving only about Rs 8,470 crore worth of the withdrawn notes still in the possession of the public.
In a statement reported by News Agency PTI, the RBI disclosed that the total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation stood at Rs 3.56 lakh crore on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal was announced. This value has significantly decreased to Rs 8,470 crore by February 29, 2024.
Thus, it’s confirmed that 97.62% of the Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have now been returned.
“The Rs 2,000 banknotes continue to be legal tender,” reiterated the RBI.
Individuals holding these notes have the option to deposit or exchange them at any of the 19 RBI offices nationwide. Additionally, they can send the Rs 2,000 banknotes through India Post from any post office to the RBI Issue Offices for crediting to their bank accounts in India.
Initially, the deadline for exchanging or depositing these notes in bank accounts was set for September 30, 2023, but it was later extended to October 7, 2023. Subsequently, deposit and exchange services at bank branches ceased on October 7, 2023.
Since October 8, 2023, individuals have been provided the choice of either exchanging the currency or having the equivalent sum credited to their bank accounts at the 19 offices of the RBI.
These RBI offices facilitating the deposit/exchange of banknotes are located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram.
Introduced in November 2016 following the demonetization of the then-existing Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes, the Rs 2,000 denomination notes have been part of India’s currency landscape for several years.
