More Than 97% Of Rs 2,000 Notes Returned Since May 2023: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India said on March 1 that about Rs 8,470 crore worth of the Rs 2,000 banknotes are still with the public. The country's central bank also added that nearly 97.62 per cent of the withdrawn notes have been returned to the banking system.

It must be noted that last year on May 19, the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation.

In an official statement, the RBI shared how people can deposit and exchange Rs 2000 banknotes. “The facility for exchange of the ₹2000 banknotes is available at the 19 Issue Offices of the Reserve Bank (RBI Issue Offices)1 since May 19, 2023. From October 09, 2023, RBI Issue Offices are also accepting ₹2000 banknotes from individuals/entities for deposit into their bank accounts. Further, members of the public are sending ₹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 RBI stated. These 19 RBI offices are in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram.

Initially, the deadline to exchange or deposit the withdrawal notes in bank accounts was September 30, 2023. However, it was later extended to October 7, of the same year.

Last year on October 7, deposit and exchange services of Rs 2000 notes at bank branches were discontinued.

But on October 8, last year, the public was given the choice of either exchanging the currency or getting the equivalent sum credited to their bank accounts. This is being done at the 19 offices of the RBI.

Offering further data, RBI also stated: “The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of Rs 2000 banknotes was announced, has declined to Rs 8,470 crore at the close of business on Feb. 29, 2024.” The statement added, “Thus, 97.62% of the ₹2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned. The ₹2000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.”

The Rs 2,000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016, following the demonetisation of the then-prevailing Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 banknotes.