In response, Das said the RBI did not have any plan to reintroduce the Rs 1,000 bank notes. The Governor termed any such report “speculative”.
The Rs 1,000 note, along with the then Rs 500 note, had lost its legal tender status during the 2016 demonetisation.
Today’s briefing was the RBI Governor‘s first official interaction with the press since the sudden announcement about the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 notes from circulation.
Das said that the Rs 2,000 notes have long fulfilled their objective of remonetising the system in the wake of demonetisation. Printing of these notes was also brought to a halt in 2018-19, he noted.
Das said there was no need for anyone to hurry to return or exchange the Rs 2,000 notes in their possession. “There is no reason to rush to banks. You have four months, till September 30,” the Governor said.
Banks have already been instructed to facilitate the note exchange/return process by providing “appropriate infrastructure at the branches such as shaded waiting space, drinking water facilities, etc. considering the summer season,” RBI said in a notification.It is worth recalling here that that during the 2016 demonetisation, huge queues had formed at banks as people rushed to have their old currency notes deposited.
There were even news of people dying while waiting in queues.