RBI Reveals 97.69% of ₹ 2000 Currency Notes Returned to Banking System

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 2nd April. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) disclosed on Monday that nearly 97.69 percent of the ₹ 2000 denomination banknotes have been returned to the banking system, with only ₹ 8,202 crore worth of the withdrawn notes still in circulation among the public.

The decision to withdraw the ₹ 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation was announced by the RBI on May 19, 2023.

According to the RBI’s statement, the total value of ₹ 2000 banknotes in circulation stood at ₹ 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal was announced. This figure has now reduced significantly to ₹ 8,202 crore as of March 29, 2024. The statement highlighted, “Thus, 97.69 percent of the ₹ 2000 banknotes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, has since been returned.”

Despite the withdrawal, the ₹ 2000 banknotes remain legal tender, with the public able to deposit and/or exchange them at 19 RBI offices across the country. Additionally, individuals can send ₹ 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts in India.

Initially, public and private entities were instructed to exchange or deposit these notes in bank accounts by September 30, 2023. The deadline was subsequently 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 option 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 ₹ 2000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016 following the demonetisation of the then-prevailing ₹ 1,000 and ₹ 500 banknotes.