The central bank has urged people to deposit the Rs 2,000 notes into their accounts and/or exchange them for notes of other denominations at any bank branch. An RBI statement said an exchange facility for Rs 2,000 notes up to Rs 20,000 at a time would be available from May 23.
RBI has asked banks to provide deposit and/or exchange facilities for Rs 2,000 banknotes by 30 September 2023.
In addition, the 19 regional offices (ROs) of RBI with issue departments will also serve as exchange points until the end of September.
Funding into bank accounts can be made in the usual manner, ie without restrictions and subject to applicable directives and other applicable legal requirements.
The RBI has also advised banks to stop issuing Rs 2,000 denomination notes with immediate effect.
The Rs 2,000 notes, while being phased out, will remain legal tender beyond the withdrawal date. The public can continue to use these banknotes for transactions and also accept them as payment.
“Second surgical strike against black money”
BJP boss Sushil Kumar Modi described the decision as a “second surgical strike against black money”.
“During demonetarization, the government started printing Rs 2,000 notes to bring immediate relief to people. That won’t worry the common man as they don’t have Rs 2000 bills,” he said.
Meanwhile, former RBI Deputy Governor R. Gandhi said the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 notes would help curb black money “to a large extent” as people hoard the “high value currency”.
Parties reject decision
Congress veteran and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday criticized the BJP-led central government for the Reserve Bank of India’s move to phase out Rs 2,000 worth of banknotes, saying that “the circle of demonetization has come full”. , adding that this is an expected move.
In a tweet, Chidambaram said, “As expected, the government/RBI have withdrawn the application.” Rs 2000 note and given until September 30 to exchange the banknotes. The rs Note from 2000 is hardly a popular medium of exchange. We said that in November 2016 and we were proved right. The Rs 2000 note was a band-aid to cover up the foolish decision to phase out the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes which were popular and frequently exchanged currencies. A few weeks after demonetisation the Government/RBI were forced to reintroduce the Rs 500 note. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Government/RBI reintroduced the Rs 1000 note as well. The circle of demonetization is closing!”
Responding to the development, Aam Aadmi party leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said: “This whole concept of starting the circulation of banknotes, stopping the circulation of banknotes or issuing new banknotes was created by Prime Minister Modi, and the Economy has suffered as a result…” I don’t know what the pros and cons of this move will be, but I hope the decision was made by the experts.”
Congress Secretary-General for Communications Jairam Ramesh criticized the move on Twitter. “Typical of our self-proclaimed Vishwaguru. First Act, Second Think (FAST). 2000 rupee banknotes, introduced with great fanfare after the highly disastrous Tughlaqi firman of November 8, 2016, are now being confiscated,” he said.
Congress leader Pawan Khera also criticized the decision, stating that “the spirit of November 8, 2016 has returned to haunt the nation once again.”
Goal achieved: RBI
The Rs 2,000 note was introduced in November 2016 primarily to quickly meet the economy’s currency needs after all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in circulation at the time were stripped of legal tender status.
The goal of introducing Rs 2,000 banknotes was achieved once banknotes in other denominations became available in sufficient supply.
About 89% of the Rs 2,000 banknotes were issued before March 2017 and have reached the end of their estimated 4 to 5 year lifespan.
The total value of these banknotes in circulation has fallen from Rs.6.73 crore at the peak on 31 March 2018 (37.3% of banknotes in circulation) to Rs.3.62 crore, down 10,000 crores on 31 March 2023. 8% of banknotes in circulation.
“It has been observed that this denomination is not commonly used for transactions. In addition, the stock of banknotes in other denominations remains sufficient to meet the public’s currency needs,” RBI said on Friday.
Printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes ceased in 2018/19.
(With contributions from agencies)
Regard The RBI will phase out Rs 2000 notes and remain legal tender
