Fact Check: Will old notes of Rs 100, 10 and 5 go out of circulation after March? This is what RBI has to say

Correction: The RBI has denied reports that claimed that the bank is considering withdrawing old currency notes of Rs 100, 10 and 5 and stopping its circulation after March-April this year. An RBI official said that there's no truth to such reports.

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NEW DELHI: Amid speculations and reports doing round that the circulation of old currency notes of Rs 100, 10 and 5 would stop permanently by March-April, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that the Central bank has no such plans and termed the report as 'fake'. An RBI spokesperson thrashed such false reports and clarified that they are not planning any such move. However, there is no official confirmation from RBI as of yet on the matter. 

As reported by several media publications, Assistant General Manager (AGM) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) B Mahesh while speaking at the District Level Security Committee (DLSC) and District Level Currency Management Committee (DLMC) meeting, stated that the old currency notes of Rs 100, Rs 10 and Rs 5 will eventually go out of circulation as RBI plans to withdraw them by March-April.

New currency notes of 100 rupees were released by the Reserve Bank of India in 2019. The RBI had issued new Rs 100 notes in lavender colour with the motif of 'Rani ki vav' – a stepwell located on the banks of Saraswati river in Gujarat’s Patan. "All Rs 100 banknotes issued earlier will also continue to be legal tender," the central bank said while announcing the issue of the new Rs 100 notes. The RBI introduced a Rs 200 note in addition to the currency note in denomination of Rs 2,000 after the demonetisation on November 8, 2016.

In 2019, responding to an RTI query, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conveyed that it has halted the printing of high-value banknotes. This provides an explanation for the fewer Rs 2000 notes being sourced by ATMs.

Speaking of the Rs 10 coin, even after 15 years of its introduction, the coin has not been accepted by traders and businessmen, which has become a problem for banks and RBI. Several rumours surfaced around the coin that created doubt among the people about its validity. Traders and shopkeepers still refuse to take Rs 10 coin that do not have a rupee symbol on them.