RBI Reports 97.87 Per Cent Of Rs 2000 Banknotes Returned To Banking System

Rs 2000 bank notes: At the time of the announcement, the total value of these currency notes in circulation stood at Rs 3.56 lakh crore

By June 28, 2024, the figure on Rs 2000 banknotes had dramatically decreased to Rs 7,581 crore.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on Monday that 97.87 percent of the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes have been returned to the banking system. As of now, only Rs 7,581 crore worth of these notes remain in the hands of the public. This follows the RBI's decision on May 19, 2023, to withdraw the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation.

At the time of the announcement, the total value of these banknotes in circulation stood at Rs 3.56 lakh crore. By June 28, 2024, this figure had dramatically decreased to Rs 7,581 crore.

"Thus, 97.87 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have since been returned," the central bank confirmed in a statement.

Initially, the facility for depositing or exchanging the Rs 2000 banknotes was available at all bank branches across the country until October 7, 2023. Since October 9, 2023, RBI issue offices have been accepting Rs 2000 banknotes from individuals and entities for deposit into their bank accounts. Additionally, members of the public have been able to send Rs 2000 banknotes via India Post from any post office in the country to any of the RBI issue offices for credit to their bank accounts.

The 19 RBI offices facilitating the deposit and exchange of the banknotes are located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Rs 2000 banknotes were initially introduced in November 2016, following the demonetisation of the then-prevailing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 banknotes.

In a statement, the RBI last year said, "The Rs 2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of RBI Act, 1934, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of 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, printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. In pursuance of the 'Clean Note Policy' of the Reserve Bank of India, it has been decided to withdraw the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. The banknotes in Rs 2000 denomination will continue to be legal tender.”