The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stopped using Rs 2000 notes more than two years ago, but according to the most recent data from the central bank as of October 31, 2025, a large amount of these high-denomination notes—worth Rs 5,817 crore—are still in circulation.
The Rs 2000 notes, which were first issued in November 2016, were demonetized on May 19, 2023, as part of the RBI’s larger approach to promoting instant payments and rationalizing currency deployment. Upon introduction, Rs 2000 notes had a circulation worth Rs 3.56 lakh crore. Since that period, Rs 5,817 crore of Rs 2000 notes have yet to be returned to the bank, according to the data as of Thursday, indicating that the general public has retained them.
The RBI has stated that Rs 2000 notes are still legal tender, even though they are no longer in circulation. These notes remain valid for real transactions and are not invalidated. Up until October 7, 2023, bank branches were able to exchange or deposit these notes. The RBI established 19 Issue Offices in major cities, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, and New Delhi, to continue accepting these notes for deposit into bank accounts after this date.
The public can also send Rs 2000 notes through India Post from any post office in the country to any of these RBI Issue Offices to have them deposited into their bank accounts. This postal route was established to facilitate trade among people across India.
The current situation with the Rs 2000 notes suggests the difficulties in completely removing a high-value banknote from circulation. This could be attributed to reasons such as cash hoarding by private individuals, businesses, or other entities. However, part of this cash likely remained undeclared and stayed hidden. For example, while the volume of cash in circulation decreased, the remainder is still a considerable amount of money – over $685 mln.
In the meantime, the RBI has continued to publish updates on the progress of the Rs 2000 note withdrawal, requesting the public to deposit or exchange any remaining notes through the relevant channels in successive years. As a consequence, the acceptance of digital payments and the withdrawal of Rs 2000 notes has increased following the notification. The withdrawal of currency has diminished people’s reliance on high-value currency for everyday needs, which was largely the government’s main target. In short, even though the Rs 2000 note is no longer being issued or circulated, the vast majority of it has been returned to the banking system. However, the currency is still in the hands of the public and is worth thousands of crores. It remains legal tender for transactions nationwide.