A video on YouTube claiming that the Rs 500 currency notes will be discontinued by 2026 has been gaining traction over the past few days, triggering confusion and panic among people. However, the Centre has debunked the 'fake' claim, saying the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not made any such announcement.
The video, posted by a YouTube Channel 'Capital TV' on June 2, said that the Rs 500 notes will start phasing out from March next year. The nearly 12-minute-long video gained over five lakh views.
"Rs 500 notes have NOT been discontinued and remain legal tender," the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check division - the Indian government's official fact-checking agency, wrote in a post on X.
It also advised citizens not to fall for misinformation.
"Always verify news from official sources before believing or sharing it," it said.
The current Rs 500 currency notes were introduced after the 2016 demonetisation exercise. The size of the note is 66mm x 150mm. The colour of the notes is stone grey, with the theme 'Indian heritage site - Red Fort'. Like other Indian Rupee banknotes, the Rs 500 notes have their amount written in 17 languages - English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on November 8, 2016, had demonetised the previous Rs 500 notes as a measure to fight corruption in the country and address the issue of counterfeit banknotes. The news notes were replaced two days later. The RBI had also introduced the new Rs 2,000 currency note during the demonetisation exercise. However, in May 2023, the notes were withdrawn from circulation, but they remained legal tender.
