Deadline to exchange pre-2005 currency notes extended

The Reserve Bank of India has extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including Rs.500 and Rs.1,000, by six months till December-end.

"The Reserve Bank of India has extended the date for the public to exchange their pre-2005 banknotes till December 31, 2015," the central bank said in a press release.

RBI had, in December 2014, set the last date to exchange these notes as June-end, asking the public to deposit the old design notes in their bank accounts or exchange them at a convenient bank branch.

It had extended its earlier exchange deadline of January 1 till the end of this month.

Besides being standard international practice to withdraw old series notes, the RBI said the pre-2005 banknotes have fewer security features compared with banknotes printed thereafter, designed to curb the menace of fake currency.

The finance ministry has informed parliament that over 164 crore pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, with a face value of around Rs.21,750 crore, were shredded in regional offices of the RBI during a 13-month period ending January.