The Reserve Bank of India has observed that a major portion of the pre-2005 banknotes have been withdrawn from circulation and only a small percentage of these notes remains in circulation. On a review, therefore, the Reserve Bank has decided that from July 01, 2016 the facility of exchanging the pre-2005 banknotes will be available only at the following offices of the Reserve Bank of India:

Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

The Reserve Bank of India had, in December 2015, set June 30, 2016 as the last date for public to exchange pre-2005 banknotes at the identified bank branches and Issue Offices of the Reserve Bank of India.

The Reserve Bank has also clarified that these pre-2005 banknotes will continue to remain legal tender.

The Reserve Bank of India has stated that it is a standard international practice not to have currency notes from multiple series remaining in circulation at the same time.

Soliciting cooperation from members of the public in withdrawing these banknotes from circulation, the Reserve Bank of India has urged them to exchange pre-2005 banknotes at the above mentioned offices of the Reserve Bank of India, as per their convenience. The Reserve Bank of India will continue to monitor and review the process so that the public is not inconvenienced in any manner.

Alpana Killawala
Principal Adviser

Press Release : 2015-2016/3051