76% of the 2000-rupee banknotes in use as of May 19, 2023, according to information provided on Monday by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), have since been returned. The central bank further stated that while 13% of the ₹2,000 notes were exchanged, 87% were deposited with banks.According to the RBI, banks received 2.72 lakh 2,000-rupee notes between May 19 and June, accounting for 76% of the entire circulation. Currently, 0.84 lakh 2,000-rupee notes are in circulation.
“The total amount of 2000 banknotes removed from circulation after the announcement on May 19 is estimated to be 2.72 lakh crore up to June 30, 2023, based on information from the banks. Consequently, ₹2000 banknotes in circulation as of the close of business on June 30 stood at ₹0.84 lakh crore. Thus, 76% of the ₹2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, have since been returned,” the RBI said in a release.
According to information gathered from major banks, of the entire amount of banknotes in the denomination of 2000 that have been returned from circulation, about 87% are in the form of deposits, and the remaining 13% have been exchanged for banknotes in other denominations, the announcement noted.The change occurred when the Delhi High Court on Monday rejected the PIL contesting the RBI’s decision to abolish the 2,000-note denomination. Rajneesh Bhaskar Gupta filed a petition asserting that the Union government should have the capacity to make such choices and that the central bank was without authority to withdraw 2,000-rupee currency notes.
According to the PIL, other from its “Clean Note Policy,” the RBI has not provided any other justification for such a “big arbitrary decision.” The central bank allegedly took the decision “without analyzing the expected problems of the public at large”.
