The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced on Friday that over 97.26 percent of the Rs 2,000 bank notes had been returned to the banking system, with only roughly Rs 9,760 crore remaining in circulation.

On May 19, the RBI ordered the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 denomination bank notes from circulation. "The total value of Rs 2,000 bank notes in circulation, which amounted to Rs 3.56 lakh crore as at the close of business on May 19, 2023 when the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 bank notes was announced, has declined to Rs 9,760 crore as at the close of business on November 30, 2023," the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated in a statement on Monday.

Thus, as of May 19, 2023, 97.26 percent of the high-value currency in circulation had been restored to the banking system, it noted. "The Rs 2,000 bank notes continue to be legal tender," the RBI said.

People can deposit and/or exchange Rs 2,000 bank notes at any of the country's 19 RBI offices. People can now submit Rs 2,000 bank notes from any post office to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their Indian bank accounts.

Initially, the general public and entities in possession of such notes were told to exchange or deposit them in bank accounts by September 30. The deadline was later pushed back to October 7. On October 7, both deposit and exchange services at bank branches were halted.

Since October 8, individuals have had the choice of exchanging currency or having the equivalent amount credited to their bank accounts at the RBI's 19 offices.

Meanwhile, long lines have formed at RBI offices during working hours to exchange/deposit Rs 2,000 notes. Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, and Thiruvananthapuram are among the 19 RBI offices where bank notes can be deposited or exchanged.

Following the demonetisation of the then-current Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 bank notes in November 2016, the Rs 2,000 bank notes were introduced.