RBI: Rs 2000 Remains Legal Tender; Nearly 97.62% Banknotes Returned

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India on Friday, March 1, announced that nearly 97.62% of the Rs 2,000 banknotes have been returned to the banking system, leaving only about Rs 8,470 crore worth of the withdrawn notes with the public.

The Rs 2000 note continues to be legal tender, the central bank said in its press release.

The Reserve Bank of India (@RBI) says that nearly 97.62% of the Rs 2,000 bank notes have returned to the banking system, and only about Rs 8,470 crore worth of the withdrawn notes are still with the public.

On May 19th, 2023, the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000… pic.twitter.com/1NmJt0NVWk

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) March 1, 2024

This marks a decrease from the total value of Rs 3.56 lakh crore in circulation when the withdrawal was announced on May 19, 2023.

The Rs 2000 note was introduced in 2016 under Section 24 (1) of the RBI Act, 1934, after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

It was introduced to address cash needs of the economy. However, several reports indicated that people, including vendors, shopkeepers, etc. were finding it difficult to spend the Rs 2000 note. In fact, a good chunk of the Rs 2,000 notes in deposits and exchanges from businesses came from businesses, and not from retail customers, moneycontrol had reported in August last year.

It was withdrawn later as part of the RBI's “Clean Note Policy”.

This policy was announced in 1999 with the goal of providing the public with high-quality banknotes. It seeks to uphold the integrity of India's currency by eliminating damaged, fake, or dirty notes from circulation.

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