The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday issued a statement that around 97.50 % of Rs 2,000 banknotes have been returned till January 31, 2024. Whereas the amount of Rs 2000 banknotes is still in circulation in the economy which stood at Rs 8,897 crore, however RBI mentioned that Rs 2,000 banknotes will continue to be legal tender.
As of January 31, 2024, the total amount of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation has significantly reduced to Rs 8,897 crore from the Rs 3.56 lakh crore reported at the close of business on May 19, 2023, the RBI said in a press note. When the decision to stop the use of the banknotes was made, the cumulative value of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation amounted to Rs 3.56 lakh crore.
The total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation decreased from Rs 3.56 lakh crore on the day of the withdrawal announcement to Rs 9,330 crore by the end of December 2023. The RBI has smooth the way of the process for the public to deposit and/or exchange the Rs 2,000 banknotes at its offices located in Ahmedabad, Patna, Bengaluru, Nagpur, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow,New Delhi, and Thiruvananthapuram.
The decision to withdraw the Rs 2,000 banknotes was part of the RBI’s “Clean Note Policy,” aimed at phasing out banknotes that are not generally used for transactions and ensuring an adequate stock of banknotes in other denominations to meet the currency requirements of the citizens.