The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said 88 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes valued at Rs 3.14 lakh crore have returned to the banking system after it announced withdrawal of the high value currency notes from circulation in May. According to the data received from banks, the RBI in a release on Tuesday said the total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes received back from circulation is Rs 3.14 lakh crore up to July 31, 2023.
In a statement, the RBI said, "Consequently, Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation as at the close of business on July 31 stood at Rs 0.42 lakh crore."
As much as 88 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, have since been returned. The total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation, which amounted to Rs 3.62 lakh crore on March 31, 2023, had declined to Rs 3.56 lakh crore as at the close of business on May 19, 2023.
Of the total banknotes in Rs 2,000 denomination received back from circulation, about 87 per cent came in the form of deposits and the remaining around 13 per cent has been exchanged into other denomination banknotes.
The central bank has urged the public to utilise the next two months to deposit and/or exchange the Rs 2,000 banknotes held with them to avoid any rush in the last few days before September 30, 2023.
On May 19, the RBI announced the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 currency notes from circulation and said existing notes in circulation can either be deposited in bank accounts or exchanged by September 30. The banknotes in Rs 2,000 denomination will, however, continue to be legal tender, the RBI said in a statement.
In order to ensure operational convenience and avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, the RBI said the exchange of Rs 2,000 notes into banknotes of other denominations can be made up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23.