More than 97% of Rs 2,000 notes returned to banking system: RBI

More than 97% of Rs 2,000 notes returned to banking system: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on November 1 said that more than 97 per cent of the Rs 2,000 bank notes have been returned to the banking system and only about Rs 10,000 crore worth of the notes are still with the public.

On May 19, the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes from circulation. "The total value of Rs 2,000 bank notes in circulation, which amounted to Rs 3.56 lakh crore as at the close of business on May 19, 2023 when the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 bank notes was announced, has declined to Rs 0.10 lakh crore as at the close of business on October 31, 2023," it said in a circular.

Thus, more than 97 per cent of the Rs 2,000 bank notes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, have since been returned, the central bank said. Public can deposit and/or exchange the Rs 2,000 bank notes at the 19 RBI offices across the country.

"Members of the public are requested to avail the facility of sending the Rs 2,000 bank notes through post offices of India Post. This will obviate the need for travel to RBI offices for deposit/exchange of the Rs 2,000 bank notes," the central bank said. Public and entities holding such notes were initially asked to either exchange or deposit them in bank accounts by September 30. The deadline was extended to October 7. Both deposit and exchange services at bank branches were discontinued on October 7. Public and entities holding such notes were initially asked to either exchange or deposit them in bank accounts by September 30. The deadline was extended to October 7.

Starting October 8, individuals have been provided with the choice of either exchanging the currency or having the equivalent sum credited to their bank accounts at 19 offices of the RBI. Meanwhile, long queues are being witnessed during the working hours at the RBI offices for exchange/deposit of Rs 2,000 notes.

The 19 RBI offices depositing/exchanging the bank notes are in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram. The Rs 2,000 bank notes were introduced in November 2016 following demonetisation of the then prevailing Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 bank notes.