No Plan To Extend Deadline For Exchange Of Rs 2,000 Notes: Finance Ministry – News18

In May 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 notes from circulation, and citizens were given the time until September 30 to return the notes. Speculations arose about the possibility of an extension to the deadline.

NCP leader Supriya Sule and 14 other MPs raised questions to the Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, regarding the demonetisation of money. The query was whether the government was planning to demonetise other high-denomination currency notes to combat black money. They also sought details of such plans and the measures taken to curb black money and fake currency.

Pankaj Chaudhary, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, clarified that the government has no intentions to demonetise other high-denomination currencies. Furthermore, there are no plans to extend the deadline for the exchange of the Rs 2,000 notes, the Minister of State for Finance added.

Earlier, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had hinted at the possibility of extending the deadline, but he later clarified that they anticipated a substantial portion of the notes to be returned by September. He advised the public not to rush to the bank and stated that the legal tender status would continue. For those residing overseas, he assured them that their difficulties would be taken into consideration during the process.

Earlier, it was reported that the printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes had been halted in 2018-19. RBI further asserted that the Rs 2,000 notes were not commonly used in transactions, as other denomination banknotes were sufficient to meet the country’s requirements.

As per the RBI, approximately 76 per cent of the Rs 2,000 currency notes in circulation have been either deposited or exchanged at banks. In terms of value, the total circulation of Rs 2,000 notes has decreased to Rs 84,000 crore as of June 30 from Rs 3.56 lakh crore on the day when the withdrawal announcement was made on May 19.