A significant crowd gathered outside the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) regional office in Chandigarh to exchange Rs 2000 notes from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab. With commercial banks no longer accepting these high-denomination banknotes, people have turned to the RBI’s 19 offices across the country for exchanges.
The rush began after the deadline for the public to exchange or deposit high-value Rs 2000 banknotes at commercial banks expired on October 7. According to the latest RBI data, a mere Rs 10,000 crore (less than 3%) of these notes are estimated to remain in circulation, signifying that over 97% of the total value of Rs 2000 banknotes is back within the banking system.
As of May 19, 2023, the total value of Rs 2000 banknotes in circulation was Rs 3.56 lakh crore. The RBI continues to provide a window for exchange or deposit at its 19 issue offices across the country, and the public is advised to use India Post’s postal service to send these notes.
Initially, the deadline for exchanging or depositing these notes was set for September 30. Following a review, the RBI extended the deadline to October 7, 2023, due to the overwhelming response and to facilitate the process. The Rs 2000 banknotes were introduced in November 2016 following the demonetization of the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, and printing ceased in 2018-19, having achieved the intended goal of meeting the economy’s urgent currency requirements.