The Centre has made it clear that there is no proposal under consideration to extend the date for exchange of ₹2,000 notes beyond September 30. It also said that it has no plans as of now to demonetise the high value currency.
“At present, this matter is not under consideration,” Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, said in a written reply when asked whether the Government intends to extend the deadline for the exchange of ₹2,000 note in banks beyond September 30. On May 19, the Reserve Bank of India had announced withdrawal of ₹2,000 note from circulation, though it will continue to be legal tender. It allowed people to deposit or exchange the note in a bank till September 30. While there is a limit of ₹20,000 at a time for exchange, there is no limit on deposit.
Since 2014, this is second case of withdrawal of currency in the system apart from one case of demonetisation. In the earlier case of withdrawal, the RBI had announced complete withdrawal from circulation of all banknotes issued prior to 2005 after March 31, 2014. From April 1, 2014, the public was given an opportunity to exchange these notes. It was clarified that these notes will continue to be legal tender.
Also read: What’s really behind the recall of ₹2,000 notes?
Note in circulation
Earlier this month, the RBI said that according to the data received from the banks, the total value of ₹2,000 banknotes received back from circulation after the announcement on May 19 was ₹2.72 lakh crore up to June 30, 2023. Consequently, ₹2,000 banknotes in circulation as at the close of business on June 30 stood at ₹0.84 lakh crore. Thus, 76 per cent of the ₹2,000 banknotes in circulation, as on May 19, have since been returned.
Data collected from major banks indicates that out of the total banknotes in ₹2,000 denomination received back from circulation, about 87 per cent was in the form of deposits and the remaining around 13 per cent has been exchanged into other denomination banknotes. The central bank advised people to avoid any rush in the last few days before September 30.
Also read: ₹2,000 notes now withdrawn. How is this different from demonetisation in 2016?
No demonetisation plans
Chaudhary also said there was no plan to demonetise other high-denomination currency notes to eliminate black money. “According to RBI, the withdrawal was a currency management operation planned to avoid any inconvenience to public or any disruption in the economy. Further, withdrawal of ₹2,000 banknotes has been factored in, in the current year’s requirement and sufficient buffer stock of banknotes in other denominations is being maintained across the country to meet exchange/withdrawal requirements,” he said.
The Minister also informed that as per the RBI, currency in denominations of ₹10 and ₹20 is available either in the form of banknotes or coins. As regards currency in the denomination of ₹50, an adequate quantity of banknotes is available for the use of the public. Hence, “there is no shortage of currency,” he said.