Indian expatriates in a dilemma over 2000 rupee notes

As the clock starts ticking for the September 30 deadline for the exchange of INR2000 currency notes by India’s central bank (Reserve Bank of India), Indian expats living in the Sultanate of Oman are in a dilemma as local exchange houses have refused to exchange their notes.

For many people, it is not feasible to visit India for the exchange of (INR2000=OMR9.3) notes because the return trip would cost them double or triple the amount of currency they possess and some have just returned from their vacation, so they won’t get an opportunity to visit India again in the near future too.

When Times of Oman contacted Amit Talukder, General Manager of Global Money Exchange, he said: “As we are not in a position to accept the notes due to RBI directives, we are advising customers to deposit/ exchange the INR2000 denomination when they are travelling to India at any bank branches. In the past also, we observed that the Reserve Bank of India issued revised guidelines to streamline the exchange processes.”

He added: “In pursuance of the “Clean Note Policy”, the Reserve

Bank of India has decided to withdraw the INR2000 denomination banknotes from circulation. The banknotes in INR2000 denomination will continue to be legal tender. The public may deposit INR2000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch in India.

The exchange of INR2000 banknotes into notes of other denominations can be made up to a limit of INR20,000/- at a time at any bank starting from May 23, 2023. The facility is available until 30th September 2023, as of now.”

R Rajesh, an expatriate from the southern Indian state of Kerala, who has just returned from a trip to his hometown, said: “I always keep some larger denomination of Indian currency for emergency purposes. Moreover, I have to pay taxi fares when I land In India and also need some money to buy goods for my family. I did not know that I would encounter such a situation. It’s my hard-earned money, how can I let it go to waste as a piece of paper?”

Same is the plight of many expatriates who have these pink coloured notes in their possession. The situation is worse for the bluecollar workers who visit India after two years. In fact, requests to people going to India on a vacation to carry their currency for exchange have increased manifold after the RBI decision regarding INR2000 notes.