Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday dismissed concerns around withdrawal of the 2,000-rupee legal tender affecting the overall currency in circulation.
“We have more than adequate quantity of printed notes already available in the system—not just with the RBI but also at the currency chests which are operated by the banks. So, there is adequate stock available and there is no reason to worry," Das told reporters.
The 2,000-rupee tender, the highest denomination currency in India, was withdrawn by the RBI on May 19, almost seven years after it was introduced to “meet the currency requirement” of the Indian economy in the wake of demonetization in November 2016.
During demonetization, which was announced by PM Narendra Modi in a televised address in November 2016, the Indian authorities had withdrawn 500 and 1,000-rupee legal tenders.
The RBI has said that the total value of 2,000-rupee banknotes in circulation has declined from Rs 6.73 trillion ($81 billion approx) at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3 per cent of notes in circulation) to nearly Rs 3.62 trillion ($43 billion) constituting only 10.8 percent of notes in circulation on March 31, 2023.
The printing of 2,000-rupee banknotes was stopped in 2018-19, with around 89 percent of them printed before March 2018
2,000-Ruppee Note to Be Legal Tender till 30 September
The 2,000-rupee note will continue to be the legal tender till 30 September this year, the RBI has said.
Those in possession of these notes have been asked to walk into banks to get them replaced with other denominations.
A person can exchange up to 10 notes per day at the bank counter, as per RBI.