The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday that Rs 1.80 lakh crores worth Rs 2,000 notes have come back to the system following the government's decision to withdraw the notes from circulation.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das addressing reporters after releasing the bi-monthly monetary policy said, "About 50 per cent of Rs 2,000 notes in circulation has come back in the banking system. So far, Rs 1.80 lakh crore have come back after the announcement."
He said that as on March 31, 2023, Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 3.62 lakh crores were in circulation.
Last month, the RBI had announced that it will be withdrawing its highest denomination currency note from circulation. The Rs 2,000 note was introduced into circulation in 2016.
The note will will remain a legal tender but citizens were asked to deposit or exchange the notes by September 30, 2023.
It may be noted that the recent decision was reminiscent of the Centre's shock move in 2016 when it withdrew 86 per cent of the ecnomony's currency in circulation overnight.
Meanwhile, the RBI left the repo rate unchanged for the second time in a row but signalled that it wanted to see inflation moderate more while preserving the growth momentum.
The monetary policy committee (MPC) which has three members from the RBI and three external experts, voted unanimously to keep the benchmark repurchase, or repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent.
The apex bank kept its GDP growth projections for the current fiscal year (April 2023 to March 2024) unchanged at 6.5 per cent while marginally lowering the retail inflation expectation to 5.1 per cent form the earlier 5.2 per cent.
