RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said 85% of the notes have come back as bank deposits
The Reserve Bank of India said today that 50 per cent of the Rs 2,000 notes in circulation have come back, around 20 days after their withdrawal was announced. The value of the notes that have been returned is Rs 1.8 lakh crore.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said 85% of the notes have come back as bank deposits. "We are reconciling the figures. But broadly, on a provisional basis, I can say that about 85% of the 2,000-rupee notes are coming back as deposits into bank accounts," Mr Das said.
As of March 31, 2,000-rupee notes worth Rs 3.62 lakh crore were in circulation.
The RBI Governor also made an appeal to avoid the last-minute rush in the last 10-15 days of September. The notes can be deposited or exchanged in banks until September 30. He added that the central bank has enough currency available for exchange.
The value of notes in circulation had already significantly come down (46% down from 2018 to 2023) even before the withdrawal. "The total value of these banknotes in circulation declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3 per cent of notes in circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore, constituting only 10.8 per cent of notes in circulation on March 31, 2023," the central bank had said.
The announcement of the withdrawal had been made on May 19. The limit of exchange or deposit had been set at Rs 20,000 at a time.
The Rs 2,000 note was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of the RBI Act, 1934 - which allows the central bank to issue notes of any denomination not exceeding Rs 10,000 - primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy "in an expeditious manner" after the demonetisation exercise.
The RBI governor had said earlier that the bank expects most notes to come back.