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‘ ₹2000 notes out of circulation but still legal tender’: RBI governor tells Parliamentary panel
RBI announced the withdrawal of ₹2,000 notes on May 19, 2023; these notes were first introduced in Nov 2016 after demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Thursday clarified that while ₹2,000 currency notes are no longer in circulation, they remain legal tender. He made the statement while briefing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance about the Indian economy’s growth.
Sources told news agency ANI that several MPs questioned the status of the ₹2,000 notes during the meeting. The RBI has not yet declared them invalid.
One MP also raised concerns about the circulation of counterfeit currency, stating that agencies had seized 1.12 lakh fake ₹500 notes. The member noted that, considering over six crore such notes are in circulation, the proportion of fakes is relatively low.
In response, the RBI governor acknowledged the issue and assured that both the central bank and the government are committed to tackling counterfeit currency and are continually taking steps to curb such activities.
Also Read | Why RBI decided to withdraw ₹2000 notes within 7 years
₹2000 notes worth ₹6,099 crore still in circulation
According to official data cited by PTI, as of July 1, ₹2,000 denomination notes worth ₹6,099 crore remain in circulation despite the RBI's announcement of their withdrawal over a year ago.
The RBI initially declared the withdrawal of ₹2,000 notes on May 19, 2023, and has since regularly updated the public on the volume of notes returned.
The ₹2,000 notes were originally introduced in November 2016 following the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes.
By December 2024, the RBI reported that 98.08% of the ₹2,000 notes in circulation had been returned. The total value of these notes had dropped from ₹3.56 lakh crore on May 19, 2023, to ₹6,839 crore as of November 29, 2024.
Until October 7, 2023, the public could deposit or exchange these notes at any bank branch. Since October 9, 2024, this facility has been restricted to 19 designated RBI Issue Offices across India.
These RBI offices are located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram.
Additionally, the public can still send ₹2,000 notes via India Post from any post office in the country to any RBI Issue Office to have the amount credited to their bank account.
