The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said that as much as 76 per cent of the Rs 2,000 notes in circulation have been returned to banks, mostly through deposits. On May 19, the central bank announced withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation and gave public time till September 30 to either deposit the currency notes in their bank accounts or get them exchanged.
The RBI in a statement on Monday, "According to the data received from the banks, the total value of Rs 2,000 bank notes received back from circulation after the announcement on May 19 is Rs 2.72 lakh crore up to June 30, 2023. Consequently, Rs 2,000 bank notes in circulation as at the close of business on June 30 stood at Rs 0.84 lakh crore." Now, 76 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023 have since been returned.
The RBI said that data collected from major banks indicates that out of the total bank notes in Rs 2000 denomination received back from circulation, about 87 per cent is in the form of deposits and the remaining around 13 per cent has been exchanged into other denomination bank notes. "Members of the public are requested to utilise the next three 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," the RBI said.
The RBI had announced that the goal of introducing the Rs 2,000 currency note had been fulfilled due to which the currency notes of Rs 2,000 will be withdrawn from circulation. The said currency note will continue to be a legal tender, according to the central bank, however, it encouraged holders to exchange or deposit them before September 2023.
Earlier, the RBI in a statement had announced, "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."