About 50% of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation back in banking system, says RBI governor

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on June 8 said around 50 percent of the Rs 2,000 currency notes in circulation as at the end March has returned to the banking system.

This constitutes around Rs 1.8 lakh crore in terms of value, the governor said. As at March-end, the total value of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation was around Rs 3.62 lakh crore.

The RBI chief added that around 85 percent of the notes that have come back to the system is in the form of deposits.

The RBI had on May 19 announced the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 bills as part of its clean note policy. For smooth completion of exchange or deposit, the RBI has provided all banks adequate time until September 30, 2023. It also advised banks to stop issuing the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes with immediate effect.

The RBI introduced the Rs 2,000 bills in November 2016 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 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

Speaking at the conference on Thursday, Das said there is sufficient time for public to deposit or exchange Rs 2000 notes and there is no need to panic.

RBI governor also further clarified that there are no speculations of the withdrawal of Rs 5000 notes or reintroduce of Rs 1000 notes.