Nearly two-years after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes from circulation, Rs 6,181 crore worth of the similar denomination notes are yet to come back to the central bank.
The total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation, which was Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes was announced, has declined to Rs 6,181 crore as on May 31, 2025, the RBI said in a release. “Thus, 98.26 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned,” it said.
Although withdrawn from circulation, the Rs 2,000 banknote continues to be a legal tender.
The RBI said that the facility for exchange of the Rs 2,000 banknotes is available at the 19 issue offices of the Reserve Bank since May 19, 2023. From October 9, 2023, RBI issue offices are also accepting Rs 2,000 banknotes from individuals or entities for deposit into their bank accounts.
Further, members of the public are sending 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 Rs 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of RBI Act, 1934, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes in circulation at that time. “The objective of introducing Rs 2,000 banknotes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities. Therefore, printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19,” the RBI earlier said.
The RBI’s annual report showed that the counterfeit notes detected in Rs 2,000 denomination declined substantially during 2024-25 in the banking system. The number of counterfeit Rs 2,000 banknotes detected in the system dropped by 86.52 per cent to 3,508 notes in 2024-25, compared to 26,035 pieces in 2023-24.