To curb the use of counterfeit notes from the market the RBI has announced the withdrawal of currency notes of all denominations including Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 manufactured prior to 2005 and the deadline for the same is set on or before 30th June. The report published by PTI, seeking the cooperation from public for withdrawing pre-2005 currency from the circulation, the has asked the public to deposit the old design notes in their bank account or exchange them at any bank branch convenient to them.
Earlier the RBI has set the deadline for the exchange of old notes was January 1, but later on they had extended it till the end of 30th June 2015. All the notes prior to 2005 will remain a legal tender and can be only exchanged for their full value at any bank branches. Now considering the deadline is approaching soon the question is how to recognize the pre-2005 notes from so many notes we have. Don’t worry it’s very easy, the pre-2005 notes do not have the year printed on the reverse side, while the notes issued post 2005 the date is printed at the bottom of the reverse of the same.
Another question which may haunt you as why government is planning to withdraw the old pre-2005 notes from the marketplace, According to the available information the notes printed prior to 2005 have fewer security features compared to the banknotes printed after 2005, said RBI. It is also standard international practice to withdraw old series notes from the market to keep the possibilities of circulation of fake currency away. The post 2005 notes have the added security features and help in curbing the menace of counterfeit.
According to the sources more than 164 crore pre-2005 notes of various denominations, including Rs. 1000 were shredded by RBI. The total face value of the shredded notes was around 21,750 crore. As per the details provided by the parliament, in the month of March, 86.87 Crore pieces of 100, 56.19 crore pieces of 500 and 21.75 crore pieces of 1000 were shredded by RBI.
It may be good step taken by the government to stop the use of fake currency in the market, so please do not wait, hurry up to the bank if you suspects to have the old notes stock in your safe or in your pocket please get them deposited in your bank of get exchanged from any of the nearest bank branch to you. Cause you never know when the government policies will decide to get away completely with the pre-2005 notes.
Source: PTI
