RBI says 88 pc of Rs 2,000 notes returned to banking system

 About 88 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes have returned to the banking system since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in May decided to withdraw the high-value note from circulation, the central bank said in a release Tuesday.

The Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation as on July 31 stood at Rs 0.42 lakh crore, RBI said.

The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023 - when the RBI decided to withdraw the note.

Thus, the total value of Rs 2000 banknotes returned to the system after the announcement on May 19 is to the tune of Rs 3.14 lakh crore, the RBI release said, citing data it received from banks.

"Data collected from major banks indicates that out of the total banknotes in Rs 2000 denomination received back from circulation, about 87 per cent is in the form of deposits and the remaining around 13 per cent has been exchanged into other denomination banknotes," RBI said.

September 30 has been decided as the last date for the purpose of completing the exercise in a time-bound manner and to provide adequate time to the public. RBI may or may not revisit the September deadline based on the situation going ahead.

People are requested to utilise the next three months to deposit or exchange their Rs 2000 banknotes to avoid any rush at the last moment.

People can exchange or deposit their Rs 2,000 notes in bank branches and regional branches of RBI. A non-account holder also can exchange Rs 2000 banknotes up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank branch.

On May 19, the RBI decided to withdraw the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation but said it will continue to remain as legal tender.

However, RBI has advised banks to stop issuing such banknotes with immediate effect.

The Rs 2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of the RBI Act, 1934, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

The objective of introducing Rs 2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, the printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. (ANI)