2.7pc of Rs 2K Bank Notes still in circulation

New Delhi: About 2.7 per cent of just-withdrawn Rs 2,000 banknotes are still in circulation, about two months after the deadline to deposit or exchange them at bank branches is over.

This essentially meant 97.26 per cent of the total value of the high-value Rs 2,000 banknotes were back in the banking system.

The last day for the public to avail of exchange or to deposit high-value Rs 2000 banknotes at the banks was Saturday (October 7).

The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, the date on which RBI decided to withdraw the banknote. As of November 30, it was at Rs 9,760 crore.

Notably, the window for depositing and/or exchanging the Rs 2,000 banknotes continues to be available at the 19 issue offices of the RBI.

Those 19 RBI issue offices are in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram.

Members of the public from within the country can send Rs 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office in the country to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts in India.

Long lines were seen outside the RBI's regional offices at various locations, with people coming from far and wide to exchange their banknotes.

September 30 was initially decided as the last date to complete the exchange and deposit exercise in a time-bound manner and to provide adequate time to the public. People were requested to utilise the month of September to deposit or exchange their Rs 2000 banknotes to avoid any rush at the last moment.

On September 30, the RBI, based on a review, decided to extend the arrangement for deposit and exchange until October 7, 2023.

The Rs 2000 banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirements of the economy expeditiously after the withdrawal of the 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, the printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19.