Expect most ₹2000 bank notes will come back to central bank: RBI Governor

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das expects most of the 2,000 rupee notes to return to the central bank. He also indicated that any decision regarding legality would be taken upon the return of the coin. On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of the ₹ 2,000 denomination banknote from circulation.

My advice is to see it as part of it reserve bank Currency management operations, this is the primary purpose we have pursued. I also asked questions about why the time was set until September 30th. You see unless you give a certain time, unless you specify a certain time, the process will not achieve a final state. “You have to give time for the ad to be taken seriously,” Das told reporters here.

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About 89 percent of the ₹2000 banknotes were issued before March 2017 and are at the end of their 4-5 year lifespan. The total value of these banknotes in circulation decreased from ₹6.73 lakh crores at its peak as on 31st March 2018 (37.3 per cent of the banknotes in circulation), to ₹3.62 crores, constituting only 10.8 per cent of the banknotes in circulation on 31st March 2023.

“We expect most of the Notes to come back, and that’s what we expect at this point. We’ll see how many Notes come back as we get closer to 30… We’ll decide at that point and the nature of the legal tender, we said it’s ongoing. We haven’t said it will or will happen.

Also read: 2,000 banknotes have now been withdrawn. How is this different from de-trading in 2016?

He also emphasized that the central bank is sensitive to Indians living abroad or who have gone on a foreign trip, elderly people visiting their children in the US or other countries for six months, and young Indians on H1 visas working in the US and elsewhere. “Whatever difficulties or any representations we face, it will be our endeavor to address the difficulties people face and complete the whole process in a smooth manner,” he said.