Demonetisation: Exchange old notes till December 30

The Government of India is expected to issue formal notification stipulating the deadline for exchange of old currency notes with the banks till 30 December 2016 and with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) till 31 March, 2017. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to demonetise the high denomination currency notes has elicited mixed reaction so far. 

According to certain media reports, Government of India will soon issue notification on the same and the exchange of notes will be limited those having limited number of notes to exchange because exchanging/depositing them in large numbers would attract penalty. Consequently, those holding old notes in bulk will find it difficult to deposit them with the RBI after 30 December, once the expected ordinance is issued. However, there were no clear indications from the Central government on these reports.

The demonetisation drive is a bold step taken by the government that will impact the country’s GDP over the short term, while it will benefit the country in the long run.