Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has decided to withdraw Rs 2,000 bank notes from circulation. It informed that the denomination must be exchanged by September 30, and till then, it will continue as legal tender.
RBI said in a statement on Friday that the new decision is part of the "Clean Note Policy" of the Reserve Bank of India, The Indian Express reported.
RBI briefed that the notes are at the end of their estimated time life span of 4-5 years. The total value of these notes in circulation declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore on March 31 2018 (its peak circulation) to 3.62 lakh crore on March 31, 2023. The denomination is observed to be not commonly used in transactions.
Further, RBI said that the exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes to other denominations could be made up to the limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank from May 23, 2023. This is to ensure operational convenience and avoid the disruption of the regular activities of banks.
The central bank has advised banks to stop issuing the 2,000 denomination with immediate effect.
The facility of exchanging Rs 2,000 bank notes up to the limit of Rs 20,000 at a time will be provided at the 19 Regional Offices (ROs) of the RBI having issue departments from May 23.
It was in November 2016; the Rs 2,000 notes were issued, intending to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes.
There were many issues raised by experts on putting the note into circulation.