The central bank of India said on Friday that it would withdraw circulating its highest denomination currency notes.
Between May 23 and September 30, according to the Reserve Bank of India, people will be requested to deposit Rs. 2,000 banknotes into their bank accounts or exchange them for lower amounts.
The 2000-rupee note, which entered circulation in 2016, will continue to be accepted as legal cash, but citizens are urged to deposit or exchange these notes by September 30, 2023.
“To ensure operational convenience and to avoid disruption of regular activities of bank branches, exchange of ₹ 2,000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made up to a limit of ₹ 20,000 at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023,” the RBI said.
The central bank has often stated that it wants to minimize the amount of high-value notes in circulation, and over the past four years, it has stopped producing 2000-rupee notes.
“This denomination is not commonly used for transactions,” The Reserve Bank of India stated in its communication that it had decided to withdraw these currencies.
3.62 trillion Indian rupees ($44.27 billion) worth of notes denominated in 2000 rupees are currently in circulation. This represents roughly 10.8% of the currency in use.
