🟢 At a Glance:
As of May 31, 2025, only ₹6,181 crore worth of ₹2000 notes remain in circulation — down from ₹3.56 lakh crore when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced their withdrawal in May 2023. That’s 98.26% returned, despite the deposit/exchange window closing over 7 months ago. But guess what? Those violet rascals are still legal tender. You just need to send them via post like it’s 1998.
💸 Rewind: Why Were ₹2000 Notes Withdrawn in the First Place?
Let’s be honest — nobody really liked the ₹2000 note.
- Couldn’t break it for pani puri
- Looked like fake Monopoly money
- Too high a denomination, great for hoarding, useless for buying Maggi
So on May 19, 2023, RBI pulled a polite demonetisation v2.0. No panic, no queues, just a press release saying:
“₹2000 notes will be withdrawn. Please deposit or exchange them by October 7, 2023.”
And people did. Quietly. Efficiently. Suspiciously efficiently.
📉 The 2025 Update: What RBI Just Told Us
On June 2, 2025, the RBI
gave the latest update:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| ₹2000 Notes in Circulation (May 2023) | ₹3.56 lakh crore |
| ₹2000 Notes Remaining (May 2025) | ₹6,181 crore |
| % Returned | 98.26% |
So where did the money go?
- Deposited at banks ✅
- Exchanged at RBI Issue Offices ✅
- Mailed via India Post to RBI (yes, you read that right) ✅
- Burnt during Holika Dahan ❓
- Still hiding in someone’s pooja room drawer ❓
🧾 What Options Do You Have Right Now in June 2025?
| Method | Still Available? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🏦 Exchange at Bank Branches | ❌ Closed Oct 7, 2023 | |
| 🏛️ Exchange at RBI Offices | ✅ 19 RBI Issue Offices | |
| 📮 Send via India Post | ✅ From any post office | |
| 🏪 Use in a shop | ✅ Technically legal tender, but good luck getting change |
Basically, if you still have ₹2000 notes in 2025:
- You can’t walk into a bank.
- You can mail them like a love letter to the RBI.
- And legally, you can still use them to buy
