The notes will continue to be legal tender till September 30, the circular said. This move is in pursuance of the “Clean Note Policy” of the Reserve Bank of India, it added.
The central bank has asked banks to provide deposit and/or exchange facility for Rs 2,000 notes until September 30, 2023, a statement said.
Exchange facility for Rs 2,000 bank notes up to Rs 20,000 at a time would be available from May 23, the RBI said.
The total value of these banknotes in circulation declined from Rs 6.73 lakh crore at its peak as on March 31, 2018 (37.3% of Notes in Circulation) to Rs 3.62 lakh crore constituting only 10.8% of Notes in Circulation on March 31, 2023.
“No instructions have been given to banks for not filling Rs 2,000 notes in ATMs. Banks make their own assessment of amount and denominational requirement for ATMs on the basis of past usage, consumer requirement, seasonal trend, etc,” FM Sitharaman had said in March.
The Rs 2,000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of RBI Act, 1934, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy in an expeditious manner after the withdrawal of legal tender status of all ?500 and ?1000 banknotes in circulation at that time.The objective of introducing these notes was met once banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities; therefore, printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19, the circular said.