The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination notes from circulation; however, these notes will remain legal tender.
Background:
The Rs 2000 notes were introduced in November 2016 to meet the currency needs after the government demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes. However, in 2018-19, RBI stopped printing Rs 2000 notes after the liquidity situation improved post-demonetisation. By 2023, though, these notes that lived their estimated 4-5 year life are being withdrawn.
The latest announcement may have reminded you of the panic demonetisation created in 2016, but this is not the case now. So if you have Rs 2000 notes, you need not worry.
What Should You Do?
The Rs 2000 bank notes are still legal tender. So, you can do your transactions with these notes. However, as these are being withdrawn, it is good that you do not hold them for long.
You can either deposit the notes in your bank account or exchange them with other denomination bank notes at your bank or any other bank branch.
For Deposit:
You may deposit the Rs 2000 notes into your bank account. The process is simple, just like any cash deposit in your bank account.
For Exchange:
RBI has fixed a limit for exchanging these notes at Rs 20,000 (10 notes of Rs 2000) at a time at any bank with other denomination bank notes.
The note exchange facility is also available at RBI's 19 regional offices (ROs), Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram which have issue departments. You can do so from May 23, 2023.
Furthermore, you can exchange the Rs 2000 notes at any bank branch. As per RBI, you do not need to be an account holder in a particular bank to exchange the notes. Also, there are no charges for that.
For a smooth execution of the withdrawal process, RBI has given time until September 30, 2023, keeping in mind people's convenience.
Banks may offer mobile van facilities to exchange these notes for people living in remote or unbanked areas. Also, RBI has asked the banks to make all arrangements to make the process convenient for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and women.
However, you can still use these notes to make or receive payments. But to avoid any last-minute hassle, exchanging them before the deadline is better.
