The Central Bank of India announced on Friday its decision
to phase out the 2,000 rupee note, just seven years after its initial
introduction.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the decision was made
as part of its clean note policy and clarified that banknotes will remain legal
tender.
It was also announced that people could exchange Rs 2,000
currency for notes of other denominations or deposit them in banks within the
prescribed time limit. The move marks the 2016 demonetization of 500 rupee and
1,000 rupee banknotes, leaving people with some doubts about the RBI's sudden
move.
The central bank has announced that banknotes will be
exchanged at 19 RBI regional offices and other bank branches from May 23.
People can exchange the withdrawn currency for lower denomination notes or
deposit it directly into their bank account.
Bank notes can be exchanged and deposited until Sept. 30,
the central bank said.
For your convenience, you can change banknotes worth up to
20,000 rupees at a time.
The notes are not normally used for transactions, according
to the central bank.
According to the report, the number of 2,000 rupee banknotes
traded has increased from a peak of 6.73 billion rupees in March 2018, which
accounted for 37.3% of the banknotes in circulation at the time, to 2,000,000
rupees in March 2023. It fell to 3.62 billion rupees, just 10.8%. banknotes in
circulation. About 89% of the 2,000 rupee notes were issued before March 2017
and had a life cycle of four to five years, the central bank said in a
statement. The RBI also said banknotes from other denominations would suffice
to meet public demand.
