The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced that it will withdraw ₹ 2,000 notes from circulation. However, people can exchange or deposit them in their bank accounts by September 30.
The process of taking back ₹ 2,000 notes and exchanging them with lower denomination one will begin from May 23, said the Central Bank adding that they will remain legal tender.
All banks have been ordered to stop issuing ₹ 2,000 notes from immediate effect.
₹ 2,000 notes were started printing in November 2016, when PM Narendra Modi scrapped ₹ 500 and ₹ 1,000 notes from circulation overnight.
“The objective of introducing Rs 2,000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of Rs 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018- 19,” said the Reserve Bank.
“In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, exchange of Rs 2,000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023,” RBI said further in its statement.
The limit set for exchanging the notes is upto ₹ 20,000.
Although the deadline to exchange ₹ 2,000 notes is upto September 30, but if anyone fails to do so till the deadline it may extend the deadline if needed. Even after the deadline the notes will remain as legal tender, said the apes bank.
“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 lifespan of four-five years. The total value of these banknotes in circulation declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3 per cent of notes in circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8 per cent of notes in circulation on March 31, 2023,” said the Reserve Bank.