The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said that Rs 2,000 banknotes can continue to be exchanged or deposited at the 19 RBI Issue Offices up to a limit of Rs 20,000 at a time. The banking regulator has earlier extended the deadline to exchange Rs 2,000 banknotes till October 7. After this date, the central bank reiterated that Rs 2,000 notes will continue to remain legal tender.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das announced that 87 per cent of the Rs 2,000 denomination notes being withdrawn have come back as bank deposits, while the rest has been exchanged. He further added that Rs 12,000 crore worth of Rs 2,000 notes are yet to come back.
This basically means over 96 per cent of the total value of Rs 2,000 banknotes are back in the banking system.
RBI said there are two ways to exchange Rs 2,000 banknotes after October 7:
To deposit Rs 2,000 notes at an RBI issue office, you will need to fill out a form and provide valid identification. You can also exchange Rs 2,000 notes at the RBI's CV&PB, but you will need to send the notes by registered post and include a self-addressed envelope for the return of your new notes.
The RBI has also clarified that Rs 2,000 notes will continue to be accepted at banks and other financial institutions for deposit into bank accounts till October 7.
"As the period specified for the withdrawal process has come to an end, and based on a review, it has been decided to extend the current arrangement for deposit / exchange of Rs 2000 banknotes until October 07, 2023," RBI had said in a press note on September 30.
On May 19, RBI announced withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes from circulation and had also instructed banks to stop issuing these notes immediately.
The Rs 2,000 denomination banknote was issued in November 2016, largely to address the economy's currency needs quickly following the loss of the legal tender status of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes in circulation at the time.
Meanwhile, the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-led Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent for the fourth time in a row. The standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remained at 6.25 per cent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75 per cent.
Das said the MPC will remain watchful of the inflation and remains resolute in its commitment to align inflation to the targeted level. According to him, the growth projection has been retained at 6.5 per cent for the current financial year with risks evenly balanced. The MPC meeting took place against the backdrop of Consumer Price-based Inflation (CPI) touching 6.83 per cent in August.