76% of Rs 2,000 banknotes returned to banks since May 19; 87% as deposits

Almost 76 per cent of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19 have been returned to the banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement on Monday.

As on May 19, the total value of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation was Rs 3.56 trillion. Out of this, currency notes worth Rs 2.72 trillion have been returned, the RBI said.  

It added that the data collected from major banks shows that out of the total banknotes in Rs 2,000 denomination returned 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 banknotes.

“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.

On May 19, the RBI said that in pursuance of the “Clean Note Policy” it has been decided to withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation.

It also said that about 89 per cent of the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life span of 4-5 years.

“The total value of these banknotes in circulation has declined from Rs 6.73 trillion at its peak as on March 31, 2018, to Rs 3.62 trillion constituting only 10.8 per cent of notes in circulation on March 31, 2023,” the RBI said.

It added that this denomination is not “commonly used for transactions”.

“Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public,” it added.

“Accordingly, members of the public may deposit Rs 2,000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch. Deposit into bank accounts can be made in the usual manner, that is, without restrictions and subject to extant instructions and other applicable statutory provisions,” it said.

RBI had given the customers time till September 30 to exchange or deposit the notes at their nearest bank branch. A customer is allowed to exchange Rs 2,000 worth Rs 20,000 at a time per branch.

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