Nearly 1.5 years after being discontinued, ₹7,000-crore worth ₹2,000 banknotes yet to be returned to RBI

Nearly one-and-a-half years after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced withdrawal of  ₹2,000 denomination banknotes on May 19, 2023, the total value of banknotes which have yet not been returned stands at ₹6,977.6 crore as on Oct 31, 2024, shows the RBI data.

The latest data revealed that the currency banknotes which have already been returned comprise 98.04 percent of the ₹2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023.

This means, the ratio of banknotes which have still not been returned are 1.96 percent of the total value which stood at ₹3.56 lakh crore as on May 19, 2023.

Ever since RBI announced the withdrawal of ₹2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation in May last year, the status of withdrawal is periodically published. The last press release in this regard was published on October 01, 2024 when the currency in circulation stood at ₹ ₹7117 crore.

In one month, this has reduced to ₹6,977.6 crore.

After demonetisation

The ₹2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 chiefly to meet the currency requirement of the economy after the withdrawal of ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

The objective of introducing ₹2000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of ₹2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. About 89 per cent 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 declined from ₹6.73 lakh crore as on March 31, 2018 (when they comprised 37.3 percent of notes in circulation) to ₹3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8 percent of notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023.

How to exchange ₹2,000 notes: Step-by-step guide

1. Visit RBI office in New Delhi with the currency and carry your aadhaar along with a photocopy to be handed over. If the amount is more than ₹50,000, you need to carry a PAN and a photocopy of the original document.

2. Show your documents at the entry gate where you will be given a form wherein the person on duty will write the number of notes to be exchanged.

3. You will not be permitted to carry a bag post this point. So, deposit the bag or laptop at the gate where you will be given a token.

4. Enter the basement office with the form where you will have to fill the remaining part of the form and get it stamped from the RBI’s official.

5. Once the form is filed, signed and stamped, you can now enter the main building of RBI from the main entrance where you would be guided to the window where exchange of notes is carried out.

6. It’s at this window, you can hand over the form, copy of aadhaar and the currency notes. In return you will be given the equivalent amount of currency notes.