Friday, May 19, 2023

RBI to withdraw Rs 2,000 notes from circulation; notes can be exchanged till Sept 30, 2023

PM Modi was castigated for introducing Rs 2000 currency notes in 2016.  


Nripendra Mishra, Principal Secretary to PM Modi, wrote in TOI article (Sept 17, 2020 - Modi's birthday) -- 
"During the preparations for demonetisation in 2016, he was not fully convinced of the idea to release new Rs 2,000 notes but accepted the suggestion of those who felt that speedy printing of the high denomination note would increase the availability of cash. He fully owned the decision and never blamed his advisers."

Congress leader Chidambaram now says noteban issue has come full circle, he described today's decision on Rs 2000 notes as --- "as expected"...


One politician in the opposition camp summed up the spirit of the common man on the issue saying, "No problem I don't have much of that denomination .. maybe not even a single note... so no issue".


Rs 2000 currency note will remain legal tender after 30th September too. 

RBI expects that 4 month time is enough for people to exchange notes with the banks. Most of the Rs 2000 notes that are in circulation will return to banks within the given time frame of 30th September. This is a routine exercise of RBI and people need not panic, sources said.



Blogger's endorsement to the move !!


Unlike the November 2016 shock demonetisation when old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were invalidated overnight, the Rs 2,000 notes will continue to be a legal tender till September 30.

In a statement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it has asked banks to stop issuing Rs 2,000 notes with immediate effect.  Reactions poured in social media by common people, economic experts and politicians.


From the opposition camp, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal went 'personal' against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, "ek anpad pradhan mantri ko koi bhi kuchh bol sakta hae (Any one finds its easy to mislead an uneducated Prime Minister)".

He said that this is the reason why he says that the PM should be educated.


The fact of the matter is different and many like 'educated' intellectuals and leaders like Kejriwal may not bother much.


The central bank (RBI) had noted that the Rs 2000 donomination note is no longer commonly used for transactions, as its circulation has come down from Rs 26.73 lakh crore in March 2018 to a modest Rs 3.62 lakh crore in March 2023.

On 19 May, the Reserve Bank of India announced that it is withdrawing the circulation of ₹2000 currency notes. RBI informed that it had stopped printing the ₹2000 notes in 2018-19, most of the notes have reached their end of life, and therefore the notes are being withdrawn in pursuance of the “Clean Note Policy”.  





The RBI has said that people can exchange the Rs 2000 notes they may be having at banks from 23 May to 30 September. Only Rs 20,000 can be exchanged at a time, which means taking notes in other denominations by depositing Rs 2000 notes. There may be no limit on depositing the Rs 2000 notes in bank accounts.


In 2018, Rs 2000 notes formed 38 percent of the total cash chest and in 2023, it is only 10.8 percent. 


It is evident that the notes were taken out of circulation in a gradual manner and therefore, the current move was in play for a long time. The moot point is the idea was to minimise the trouble caused to the common public.


In 2020 itself, reports started to appear in the media about the disappearing Rs 2000 notes and ATMs were mostly dispensing only Rs 500 notes.


One politician in the opposition camp summed up the spirit of the common man on the issue saying, "No problem I don't have much of that denomination .. maybe not even a single note... so no issue".


Former FM and Congress leader P Chidambaram said, "As expected, the government/RBI have withdrawn the Rs 2000 note and given time until September 30 to exchange the notes. The Rs 2000 note is hardly a popular medium of exchange. We said this in November 2016 and we have been proved correct.


The Rs 2000 note was a band-aid to cover up the foolish decision of demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes which were popular and widely exchanged currencies. I shall not be surprised if the government/RBI re-introduced the Rs 1000 note as well. Demonetisation has come full circle!"


ends 



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