MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India on Monday granted an additional
nine months for the public to exchange currency notes printed before
2005, including Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations, and set a deadline of
January 1, 2015.
"RBI has also advised banks to facilitate the exchange of these notes
for full value and without causing any inconvenience whatsoever to the
public," the central bank said in a release.
It clarified that the public "can continue to freely use these notes"
for transactions and can unhesitatingly receive these notes in payment
as all such notes remain legal tender.
The RBI on January 22 said it would withdraw from circulation all
pre-2005 currency notes from April 1 and the public was advised to
approach banks to exchange such notes.
Currency notes issued before 2005 do not have the year of printing on
the reverse side. In notes issued after 2005, the year of printing is
visible at the bottom of the reverse side.
The RBI said the withdrawal is in conformity with the standard
international practice of not having multiple series of notes in
circulation at the same time.
"A majority of such notes have already been withdrawn through the banks
and only a limited number of notes remain with the public" the RBI
said.
The apex bank said it will monitor and review the withdrawal and
exchange process so that the public is not inconvenienced in any
manner.
Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan had earlier said the withdrawal was
not an attempt at demonetisation, nor had it anything to do with the
forthcoming general election.
Post-2005 notes have added security features and help in curbing the menace of fake currency.
At present, currency notes are issued in denominations of Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
Earlier, the RBI had withdrawn a certain series of currency notes at the
bank level but bearers were not asked to get them replaced.
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