The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released an important update on the status of ₹2000 currency notes that were withdrawn from circulation in May 2023. According to data available up to December 31, 2025, the complete return of these high-denomination pink notes has still not been achieved.
At the time of withdrawal, ₹2000 notes worth ₹3.56 lakh crore were in circulation. As of the end of 2025, 98.41% of these notes have been returned, while ₹5,669 crore worth of notes remain with the public, the RBI said Only ₹148 Crore Returned in the Last Two Months
The RBI noted that while the pace of return was rapid in the initial months following the withdrawal, it has now slowed significantly.
As of October 31, 2025, ₹2000 notes worth ₹5,817 crore were still in circulation. By December 31, 2025, this figure had declined marginally to ₹5,669 crore.
This means that only ₹148 crore worth of notes were returned over the last two months, indicating a sharp slowdown in the return process.
The central bank reiterated that despite being withdrawn from circulation, ₹2000 notes continue to remain legal tender until they are completely withdrawn.
Why Were ₹2000 Notes Withdrawn?
The ₹2000 notes were introduced in November 2016 following the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1000 notes. Once sufficient currency of other denominations became available in the economy, the RBI decided to withdraw the ₹2000 notes from circulation under its Clean Note Policy on May 19, 2023.
Where Can ₹2000 Notes Still Be Exchanged?
Initially, the RBI allowed the exchange and deposit of ₹2000 notes at all bank branches until October 7, 2023. After a substantial reduction in the number of notes in circulation, the facility was restricted to 19 RBI offices across the country.
These offices are located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram. Additionally, for public convenience, the RBI has also enabled the facility to send ₹2000 notes through India Post from any post office for exchange.
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