Did RBI Withdraw the Old Rs 100 Banknotes? No, Viral Claim is False!
Yogesh Dayal, the spokesperson for RBI, dismissed the viral claims about the withdrawal of the old Rs 100 notes.
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A viral social media post claims that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently declared the old series of Rs 100 banknote as invalid.
It also states that RBI has given a deadline to exchange these old banknotes by 31 March 2024.
(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here. We also received a query about this on our WhatsApp Tipline.)
What is the truth?: The claim is false. RBI has not issued any such guidelines about withdrawing the old Rs 100 banknotes.
We reached out to Yogesh Dayal, the spokesperson for RBI, who also dismissed the viral claims.
How did we find out the truth?: We checked RBI's official website and did not find any circular about withdrawing of old Rs 100 banknotes. Nor did we find any news reports about this.
The most recent circular by RBI about the withdrawal of currency notes was about Rs 2,000 and not Rs 100.
This was shared on 19 May and it stated that Rs 2,000 notes would be officially withdrawn from circulation.
It also mentioned that the public should deposit and/or exchange Rs 2000 banknotes until 30 September 2023.
About withdrawal of Rs 2000 banknotes.
(Source: RBI/Screenshot)
About the new Rs 100 notes: RBI issued new Rs 100 notes in 2018.
The new notes were lavender in colour and it carried several other patterns and designs.
This circular also mentioned that all Rs 100 banknotes will be valid and legal tenders, including the old ones.
About newly launched of Rs 100 banknotes.
(Source: RBI/Screenshot)
Another section on the RBI website also carried an image of the old series of Rs 100 notes, mentioning it to be valid and a legal tender.
RBI also clarified that the old series of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 note are the only invalid ones after the 2016 demonetisation.
The old Rs 100 note is still valid and a legal tender.
(Source: RBI/Screenshot)
RBI dismissed the claim: In 2021, RBI dismissed this viral claim on their official X (formerly Twitter) account.
They clarified that the claims about the withdrawal of the old Rs 100, Rs 10 and Rs 5 banknotes are false.
Statement from RBI Spokesperson: We reached out to Yogesh Dayal, the spokesperson for RBI, who dismissed the viral claims.
"RBI has not issued any such guidelines," he added.
Conclusion: The viral claim about RBI announcing the withdrawal of the old series of Rs 100 banknotes is false.
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