Nearly 97.38 pc Rs 2,000 notes returned to banking system; Rs 9,330 cr still with public: RBI
Mumbai, Jan 1: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said that nearly 97.38 per cent of the Rs 2,000 bank notes have been returned to the banking system, and only about Rs 9,330 crore worth of the notes are still with the public.
On May 19, the RBI announced 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 9,330 crore as at the close of business on December 29, 2023," the RBI said in a statement.
Thus, 97.38 per cent of the high-value currency in circulation as of May 19, 2023, has since been returned to the banking system, it added.
"The Rs 2,000 bank notes continue to be legal tender," the RBI added.
People can deposit and/or exchange Rs 2,000 bank notes at the 19 RBI offices across the country. People can also send Rs 2,000 bank notes through India Post from any post office to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts in India.
Public and entities holding such notes were initially asked to either exchange or deposit them in bank accounts by September 30. The deadline was later extended to October 7. Deposit and exchange services at bank branches were discontinued on October 7.
Starting October 8, individuals have been provided with the choice of either exchanging the currency or having the equivalent sum credited to their bank accounts at the 19 offices of the RBI.
Meanwhile, queues are being witnessed during working hours at the RBI offices for exchange/deposit of Rs 2,000 notes.
The 19 RBI offices depositing/exchanging the bank notes are in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram.
The Rs 2,000 bank notes were introduced in November 2016 following the demonetisation of the then-prevailing Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 bank notes.
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No 'bacterial infection' found in bodies of 4 Mumbai family members who died after eating watermelon
Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.
As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.
"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.
The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.
"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.
