RBI Reports 98.04% Return of Rs 2,000 Notes; Rs 6,970 Crore Still in Public Hands

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday said 98.04% of the Rs 2000 banknotes have been returned to the banking system, and only Rs 6,970 crore worth such notes are still with the public. On May 19, 2023, the RBI announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation.

The total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023. It has declined to Rs 6,970 crore at the close of business on Oct. 31, 2024, the RBI said.

"Thus, 98.04% of the Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned," it said in a statement.

The facility for deposit and/or exchange of the Rs 2000 banknotes was available at all bank branches till Oct. 7, 2023. However, this facility is still available at the 19 issue offices of the Reserve Bank.

From Oct. 9, 2023, the RBI issue offices are also accepting Rs 2000 banknotes from individuals and entities for deposit into their bank accounts.

Further, members of the public can also send Rs 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office within the country to any of the RBI issue offices for credit to their bank accounts.

The 19 RBI offices depositing/exchanging the banknotes are in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Rs 2000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016, following the demonetisation of the then-prevailing Rs 1000 and Rs 500 banknotes.