The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Friday, announced that it is withdrawing ₹2,000 currency notes from circulation. However, the notes will continue to be legal tender till September 30, 2023.
The existing notes in circulation can either be deposited in bank accounts or exchanged by September 30, a circular by the central bank said. People can deposit ₹2000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch.
It has been decided to withdraw the ₹2000 denomination banknotes from circulation in pursuance of the “Clean Note Policy” of the Reserve Bank of India, RBI said. The central bank also asked banks to stop issuing ₹2000 denomination notes with immediate effect.
“In order to ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, exchange of ₹2000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made upto a limit of ₹20,000/- at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023,” the RBI said.
The objective of introducing ₹2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities and so, printing of ₹2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19, the RBI said in a circular.
“It has also been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public,” the circular said.
