RBI to allow exchange of Rs 200,Rs 2,000 notes

If your Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 denomination notes bleed colour or are torn, you may find it difficult to exchange them at any bank because there is no such law to facilitate that until now.

It is only in the last weeks that the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India have started a move to bring required changes in the existing regulation that permits exchange of notes of Rs 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and the erstwhile Rs 1,000 if they are not in good condition.

Soon, an amendment will give powers to banks to exchange these two newly introduced notes.

The changes will be incorporated in the Reserve Bank of India (Note Refund) Rules, 2009.

According to sources, the finance ministry has given a go-ahead to the RBI to bring about the change. Now, the approval will have to be sought by the RBI Board.

Sources in the RBI said, the Board is expected to take up the matter in the coming days after which a person seeking to exchange Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 notes, which are the newest in the currency note series, will be able to do so.

After an RBI clarification last year, banks had started exchanging colour-stained currency notes. The RBI clarified after certain people reported the new currency notes were bleeding colour.

However, there were certain reservations on the part of the lenders on exchanging torn notes of the newest denomination of Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 as the existing RBI guidelines did not permit them to do so.