SBI has received Rs 80,886 crores worth of Rs 2,000 notes till the end of September this year.
How much received?
India’s largest public sector lender said Rs 14,079 crore were received as exchange and Rs 66,807 crore through deposits.
Regarding which segment it made the most in terms of most, SBI replied, “The information from which retail or from business has not compiled in the ordinary course of business this information is not centrally available”.
Why withdraw Rs 2,000?
Back on May 19, the central bank declared the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency bills from circulation, apparently part of its clean-note policy, and advised banks to stop issuing the bills with immediate effect.
“In pursuance of the ‘Clean Note Policy’ of the RBI, it has been decided to withdraw the Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes from circulation,” the RBI had said.
Per the last RBI release of September 30, 2023, about 96 percent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have been returned.
A temporary surrender?
In a relief to regular Indian citizens, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday said Rs 2,000 banknotes continue to be a legal tender.
It said people can continue to deposit it through any post office in the country.
RBI had earlier announced the withdrawal of the currency in May this year, saying more than 97 per cent of the banknotes had returned.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had expressed earlier on October 20 that the remaining Rs 2,000 notes would also be exchanged or deposited, with only Rs 10,000 crore remaining in the system.
Crimes involved
Despite the deadline where withdrawn notes at bank branches ending on October 7 had to be exchanged the facility is still available at RBI offices, still there were long queues.
And as usual, criminal elements have stepped in.
Customers are willing to pay commissions to avoid standing in long queues multiple times.
And they are all too eager to take them on.
