RBI cuts printing of RS 2,000 notes

New Delhi: The printing of Rs 2000 note, introduced after demonetisation on November 8, 2016, has been reduced to a “minimum” by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), a top Finance ministry official said on Thursday amid reports that it is being phased out.

Soon after the sudden decision to ban old Rs 500/1000 currency notes by the Union government, the RBI had come out with the Rs 2000 note along with a new Rs 500 note as part of its remonetisation exercise. According to the Finance ministry official, the central bank and the Union government decide from time to time the quantum of currency notes to be printed on the basis of money in circulation. When the Rs 2000 note was launched, it was decided that the printing would be “scaled down” going forward, since the new high-value currency note was meant for meeting the remonetisation needs. “The printing of Rs 2000 notes has been substantially reduced. It has been decided to limit the printing of Rs 2000 notes to a minimum. This is nothing new,” the official said.

According to RBI data, there were 3,285 million pieces of Rs 2000 notes in circulation at the end of March 2017. A year after, on March 31, 2018, there was only a marginal increase in that number to 3,363 million pieces. Of the total currency in circulation amounting to Rs 18,037 billion on March 31, 2018, Rs 2000 notes accounted for 37.3%, down from 50.2% on March 31, 2017. The old Rs 500/1000 notes that were scrapped due to demonetisation accounted for around 86% of the total currency in circulation at that time.