RBI withdraws Rs 2,000 notes from circulation, exchange allowed till September 2023

HYDERABAD: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday decided to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation. However, the banknotes in Rs 2,000 denomination will continue to be the legal tender. The apex bank will allow deposit or exchange facility of the pink-coloured notes till September 2023.

In a statement issued on Friday, the RBI gave the rationale behind the move, saying that banknotes in other denominations were available in sufficient quantities. The RBI introduced the Rs 2,000 note in 2016, as part of demonetisation. The move was aimed to meet the acute demand for liquid cash resulting from the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Subsequently, the RBI has stopped printing the Rs 2,000 notes since 2018. A bulk (89 percent) of the currently available notes were printed before 2018 which will have a life span of four to five years from the date of their printing.