The Centre on Saturday made a major statement on the circulation of some reports that claim the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made new rules for the exchange of old currency.
According to PIB Fact Check, one of the government's fact-checking arms, such reports talking about "new rules" for the exchange of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were "fake".
"RBI has made NO such announcement!" it said in an X post, debunking the sudden hype online around the new rules for exchanging the demonetised notes.
Has RBI really announced 'new rules' for exchanging old ₹500 & ₹1000 notes❓
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) April 17, 2026
Some news reports claim that the Reserve Bank of India (@RBI) has issued new guidelines to exchange discontinued currency notes.#PIBFactCheck
❌ This claim is FAKE!
❌RBI has made NO such… pic.twitter.com/8ph2mlCrLT
"The official RBI website is the only authentic source for updates on financial regulations and currency-related announcements. NEVER forward unverified messages. Stay alert and share only information from trusted official sources," it added.
Notably, this is not the first time—in the many years since demonetisation took place—that such false claims have circulated.
Has RBI really announced 'new rules' for exchanging old ₹500 & ₹1000 notes❓
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) November 6, 2025
Some news reports claim that the Reserve Bank of India (@RBI) has issued new guidelines to exchange discontinued currency notes.#PIBFactCheck
❌ This claim is FAKE!
❌RBI has made NO such… pic.twitter.com/TawGwLcE0J
In fact, it had debunked the exact same claims twice in recent times—first on October 29, and then on November 6.
Has RBI really asked banks to stop disbursing ₹500 notes from ATMs by September 2025? 🤔
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) August 3, 2025
A message falsely claiming exactly this is spreading on #WhatsApp #PIBFactCheck
✅ No such instruction has been issued by the @RBI
✅ ₹500 notes will continue to be legal tender.… pic.twitter.com/9ia2t8Nf0K
The fact-checking arm had also flagged August 2025 reports of the Rs 500 note going to stop being disbursed at ATMs from September 2025 onwards.
What happened to the old notes?
The old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were discontinued during the Centre's major demonetisation exercise back on November 8, 2016. This was followed by the introduction of new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes.
The move had been implemented to curb the flow of black money and boost cashless transactions in the country.
While the Rs 100 and Rs 500 notes underwent minor modifications in the years that followed, no new rules for the exchange of old currency have been issued since.
