Nearly two years after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 currency notes, a total of Rs 6,181 crore worth of the high-denomination notes still remain outside the banking system, according to an official release from the central bank.

As of May 31, 2025, this amount represents just 1.74% of the Rs 2,000 notes in circulation when the withdrawal was announced on May 19, 2023. At that time, Rs 2,000 notes worth Rs 3.56 lakh crore were in circulation. The RBI noted that 98.26% of these notes have since been returned.

“Thus, 98.26 per cent of the Rs 2,000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned,” the statement read.

Despite their withdrawal, Rs 2,000 notes continue to be legal tender. The RBI has been facilitating their exchange at its 19 issue offices since May 2023.

From October 9, 2023, these offices also began accepting the notes for deposit into individual or entity bank accounts. Additionally, the public can send Rs 2,000 notes via India Post from any post office in the country for credit into their accounts with the RBI.

The Rs 2,000 note was introduced in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of the RBI Act, 1934, as a quick response to the sudden currency shortage after the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

However, the RBI stopped printing these notes in 2018-19 once other denominations were available in sufficient quantity.

The central bank’s latest annual report also reveals a sharp drop in the number of counterfeit Rs 2,000 notes detected in the banking system.

In 2024-25, only 3,508 fake Rs 2,000 notes were identified, a steep 86.5% decline from 26,035 cases recorded in 2023-24.