MUMBAI: Only over Rs 9,760 crore worth of the Rs 2,000 bank notes are still in circulation, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which reported on Friday that nearly 97.26% of the notes have been returned to the banking system. The RBI declared on May 19 that banknotes with a denomination of Rs 2,000 will no longer be in circulation. “The total value of Rs 2,000 bank notes in circulation, which amounted to Rs 3.56 lakh crore as at the close of business on May 19, 2023 when the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 bank notes was announced, has declined to Rs 9,760 crore as at the close of business on November 30, 2023,” the RBI stated in a statement. It further stated that as of May 19, 2023, 97.26% of the high-value currency in circulation has been brought back into the banking system. The RBI stated, “The Rs 2,000 bank notes remain legal tender.” The 19 RBI offices around the nation accept deposits and/or exchanges of Rs 2,000 in banknotes. Additionally, anyone can send two thousand rupees by India Post from any post office to any RBI Issue Office to have the money credited to their bank accounts back home. The initial request was made to the public and entities holding these notes to exchange or deposit them in bank accounts by September 30. Later, the deadline was moved to October 7. On October 7, deposit and exchange services were terminated at bank branches. At the 19 RBI offices, people have had the option of exchanging their currency or having the same amount credited to their bank accounts as of October 8. In the meantime, lines are seen at RBI offices during business hours to exchange or deposit Rs 2,000 notes. Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram are the 19 RBI offices that deposit and exchange bank notes. November 2016 saw the introduction of the Rs 2,000 bank notes, which replaced the then-current Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 bank notes.
