The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Wednesday that 98.45 percent of the Rs 2,000 notes in circulation have been returned. The central bank had announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes from circulation on May 19, 2023. RBI said that the total value of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023 (when the withdrawal of these notes was announced), has declined to Rs 5,501 crore at the close of business on March 31, 2026. The bank said that thus, 98.45 percent of the Rs 2,000 notes in circulation till May 19, 2023 have been returned so far.
Where can you deposit notes
From May 19, 2023, the facility to exchange Rs 2,000 notes is available in 19 RBI Issue Offices. From October 9, 2023, the issue offices of RBI are also accepting Rs 2,000 notes from individuals/entities for deposit in their bank accounts. Apart from this, RBI said in a release that the general public is sending Rs 2,000 notes through ‘India Post’ from any post office in the country to any issue office of RBI, so that the amount can be deposited in their bank accounts. The central bank further said that Rs 2,000 notes still remain legal tender.
Apart from this, common people can send Rs 2000 notes to any issue office of RBI through ‘India Post’ from any post office in the country, so that the amount can be deposited in their bank accounts. These issue offices are in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram.
Why were Rs 2,000 notes withdrawn?
Following the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, Rs 2,000 notes were introduced in November 2016 to meet the immediate cash requirement. But, with ample availability of other notes and most of the Rs 2,000 notes having completed their expected maturity of 45 years, the RBI decided to withdraw them under its “Clean Note Policy”. RBI had said in a statement that the objective of introducing Rs 2,000 notes was achieved when other notes became available in large quantities.
Therefore, printing of Rs 2,000 notes was stopped in 2018-19. RBI had said that it has also been observed that this note is not generally used for transactions. Apart from this, the stock of other notes is enough to meet the money needs of the people. Keeping these things in mind, and under the ‘Clean Note Policy’ of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation.