MUMBAI, Sept 1 Reuters The Reserve Bank of India RBI on Friday said 93 of the country39;s highest denomination 2,000rupee currency notes worth 3.32 trillion rupees 40.14 billion have been returned since its decision to withdraw them from circulation.

The RBI had said in May that it would withdraw these highvalue notes, permitting their exchange or deposit until Sept. 30.

The total value of 2,000rupee notes in circulation was down to 3.56 trillion rupees as of May 19, from 3.62 trillion rupees as on March 31 the end of the last fiscal year the central bank said in a statement.

Meanwhile, 240 billion rupees worth of these notes are in circulation, as of Aug. 31, it said.

Data collected from major banks indicated that about 87 of the banknotes received by lenders was in the form of deposits, while around 13 exchanged for other denominations, the RBI said.

The 2,000rupee notes were introduced in 2016 to replenish the Indian economy39;s currency in circulation after the government39;s shock move in 2016 to demonetize the economy by scrapping highvalue banknotes overnight.

However, the central bank has frequently said that it wants to reduce highvalue notes in circulation and had stopped printing 2,000rupee notes over the past four years.

1 82.7131 Indian rupees

Reporting by Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil

Source Reuters