RBI withdraws Rs 2000 notes in India; Exchange with banks before September 30

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India has decided to stop the circulation of Rs 2000 denomination currency notes in the country. As part of the decision, RBI has ordered to immediately stop printing Rs 2000 notes in India. The banks are also asked to act in compliance with the RBI decision and stop further distribution of Rs 2000 notes.

“About 89% of the ₹2000 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 ₹6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3% of Notes in Circulation) to ₹3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8% of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023. It has also been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions.” RBI stated.

The people can exchange Rs 2000 with banks to the limit of Rs 20,000 at a time. The exchange will be valid up to September 30th of this year. Meanwhile, the legal tender for the Rs 2000 currency notes will remain valid. It was in 2016 that the Rs 2000 currency notes were introduced as a substitute after the government called for demonetization with a sudden banning of the hitherto used Rs 1000 and Rs 500 currency notes.