Ever since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced to withdrawal Rs 2000 notes from circulation, the rumour mills have been working overtime with speculations surrounding Rs 500 notes. There also have been murmurs of the central bank planning to re-introduce Rs 1000 notes.
However, the RBI has come out with a clarification over all such rumours. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, addressing a post-MPC press conference on Thursday (June 8), said people should not speculate over the withdrawal or re-introduction of currency notes. "The central bank is not thinking of withdrawing Rs 500 notes, or re-introducing notes in Rs 1,000 denomination," he said.
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said about 50 per cent of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation has come back in the banking system since the RBI announced withdrawal of the highest denomination currency last month. As on March 31, 2023, he said, Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 3.62 lakh crore were in circulation.
"So far, Rs 1.80 lakh crore have come back after the announcement," he said during an interaction with media after releasing the bi-monthly monetary policy. About 85 per cent of Rs 2,000 notes are coming as deposits in bank accounts and this is in line with expectation, he said.
On May 19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes as part of its currency management and permitted the exchange of such notes (up to Rs 20,000 in one go) from May 23 onwards. The exchange or deposit window is available till September 30, 2023.
