The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday extended the deadline for the public to exchange, and deposit Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes till October 7.
“As the period specified for the withdrawal process has come to an end, and based on a review, it has been decided to extend the current arrangement for the deposit/exchange of Rs 2000 banknotes until October 07, 2023,” RBI said.
The central bank’s decision comes after it announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes from circulation back on May 19, 2023. The initial deadline for the exchange was set for September 30, 2023.
RBI extended the deadline for the public to exchange, and deposit Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes. (Representative Image)
The central bank said that people can continue to exchange Rs 2,000 banknotes at the 19 RBI Issue Offices up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time beginning October 8.
The RBI said that it has received Rs 3.42 lakh crore worth of Rs 2,000 notes from a total of 3.56 lakh crore in circulation as of May 19. This has resulted in only 0.14 lakh crore value of 2,000 notes remaining in circulation as of September 29.
The Rs 2,000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of the RBI Act, 1934, with the main objective of meeting the economy's currency requirements promptly following the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes in circulation at the time.
However, the printing of Rs 2,000 denomination notes was halted in 2018-19 due to the achievement of that target and the availability of banknotes in other denominations in adequate quantities.
“A majority of the Rs 2000 denomination notes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4-5 years. It has also been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions. Further, the stock of banknotes in other denominations continue to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public," the central bank said.