The Reserve Bank of India on Monday said 97.82 per cent of the ₹2,000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, have been returned till May 31, 2024.

The total value of ₹2,000 banknotes in circulation, which was ₹3.56-lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of ₹2,000 banknotes was announced, has declined to ₹7,755 crore at the close of business on May 31, 2024, per a central bank statement.

The central bank emphasised that ₹2,000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.

The central bank said the facility for deposit and / or exchange of the ₹2,000 banknotes was available at all bank branches in the country up to October 7, 2023.

The facility for exchange of the ₹2,000 banknotes is available at RBI’s 19 issue offices since May 19, 2023.

From October 09, 2023, RBI Issue Offices are also accepting ₹2000 banknotes from individuals / entities for deposit into their bank accounts.

Further, members of the public are sending ₹2,000 banknotes through India Post from any post office within the country, to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts.

The central bank had announced the withdrawal of ₹2,000 banknotes on May 19, 2023, from circulation as these notes were not commonly used for transactions and the stock of banknotes in other denominations continues to be adequate to meet the currency requirement of the public.

Then, RBI also said the withdrawal is in pursuance of its “Clean Note Policy”.