All Indian currency notes issued before 2005 will soon go out of circulation, as per a new directive issued by the Reserve Bank of India on 22 January 2013.
From 1 April 2014, all currency notes issued prior to 2005 will need to be exchanged at any bank in the country.
There’s no need to have an account with the bank where the notes are being exchanged. The notes can be exchanged until 30 June 2014.
From 1 July 2014, the depositor will need to provide a proof of identity and proof of address, if the number of notes being exchanged in more than 10.
The apex bank has not set a deadline for accepting old notes by banks.
To be able to tell if the note is pre-2005 or not, a close look at the note reveals the year of issue. All notes issued after 2005 will have the year inscribed on them. All notes where the year of issue is not mentioned are pre-2005 notes and should be returned to banks.
The move has caused a mixed reaction from people.
It’s a really good move by the RBI, which will do something good for the nation, all illegal money holders is under pressure.. Check mate!!!
— Relin Jose P.M.™ (@RelinJose) January 23, 2014
RBI is subjecting citizens to yet another heckle at its end: when you count money, keep checking the date of print of notes! — Vimal (@Vimaljoshi) January 23, 2014
The aim of the initiative is to move to a cashless economy, RBI says. However, experts are inferring that the move is aimed at tackling the growing problem of black money in the economy.
The sheer size of currency notes that are in circulation is likely to make this exercise extremely challenging for banks. This is likely to create long queues at bank-branches, most of which are already under-staffed and struggle to cater to walk-in customers.
This RBI’s currency phaseout measure is so new to India.. Will create a bank rush of a different sort.Hahah But seriously hope it works. — Aditi 🙂 (@aditi_34) January 23, 2014
Questions are being raised about the effectiveness of RBI’s directive in curbing black money.
so #RBI wants currency to be current. http://t.co/qvFkQq0PYf but inflation is recurrent 🙂 — Ajit Ranade (@ajit_ranade) January 22, 2014
Then there are questions about the 2005 cut-off. What about the black money ‘earned’ after 2005?
RBI to withdraw all currency notes printed before 2005. Hope all pre-2005 scam money was converted into dollars.
— Faking News (@fakingnews) January 22, 2014
There’s a tongue-in-cheek question about the new governor’s intentions behind the move.
RBI withdraws pre-2005 currency notes to curb black money. Pertinent question: Where do you get the new Raghuram Rajan autographed notes?
— Purple Just Exploded (@purpleXplodes) January 23, 2014
Leave a Reply