Only 8 days are left to exchange pre-2005 currency notes, including those of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations at banks, as the deadline ends on June 30.
Seeking cooperation for withdrawing pre-2005 currency notes from circulation, the RBI had asked the public to deposit the old design notes in their bank accounts or exchange them at a bank branch convenient to them.
The earlier deadline was January 1, but later the Reserve Bank extended it till the end of this month.
All pre-2005 notes continue to remain a legal tender. These notes can be exchanged for their full value at the bank branches.
It is easy to identify pre-2005 notes as they do not have the year of printing mentioned on their reverse side (like in the picture above). In notes issued post 2005, the year of printing is visible at the bottom.
The RBI said it wants to remove these notes from the market because they have fewer security features compared to bank notes printed after 2005.
Post-2005 notes have added security features and help in curbing the menace of fake currency.
It is standard international practice to withdraw old series notes.
Over 164 crore pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including of Rs 1,000 were shredded in regional offices of Reserve Bank in 13-month period ending January.