Viral Sach: Is the last date to deposit old notes December 15?

NEW DELHI: The government had on November 8 demonetised 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and asked the holders of such notes to either deposit them or exchange in banks between November 9 and December 30. Through this, it has taken out Rs 14 lakh crore or 86 per cent of the currency out of the market. The government also permitted various exemptions for certain transactions and activities wherein payment could be made through the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. While there is no respite in sight for cash-strapped people even after 33 days of demonetisation, an image of a newspaper report has gone viral on the social media with a message claiming that the banks may soon stop accepting demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes. According to the viral message, the last date to deposit old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations is December 15. ALSO READ | Viral Sach: Was Rs 20,000 crore seized from BJP MLA's vehicle? "The government may ask banks to stop accepting demonetised notes anytime soon. The target was to take Rs 15 lakh crore back to the banking system. Now as Rs 10 lakh crore has already been deposited into the banks, the government would consider the surplus value of Rs 5 lakh crore as 'black money'," the message claimed. The government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 but provided a number of exemptions, where they could be used till November 24. It later extended the last date for use of the old Rs 500 notes till December 15 to pay for public utility bills and stopped the over-the-counter exchange of cash. But the Centre didn't revise the deadline of 30 December for deposit of old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. ABP News, in its Viral Sach segment, posed this question to R Gandhi, the Deputy Governor of the RBI, and asked whether the last date for deposit of demoentisation can be preponed? "About the deadline, it's a continuous review. The program as of now is up to December 30," Gandhi replied. Though, the RBI official neither refuted the claim nor endorsed it but it's apparent that the last date to deposit demonitised currency in banks is still December 30. However, the government may take any decision that befits the situation.