India demonetised its old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes on 8 November 2016, withdrawing ₹15.42 lakh crore, about 86% of cash by value. People had until 30 December 201…
Narendra Modi said old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes would stop being legal tender at midnight. About 86% of cash by value.
Banks shut for a day, ATMs for two. Limits changed almost daily as queues ran round the block.
The Survey estimated 0.25 to 0.5 points off 2016-17 growth. Printing new notes cost ₹7,965 crore.
The RBI said ₹15.31 lakh crore of ₹15.42 lakh crore returned. Very little cash was destroyed.
A five-judge bench upheld the note ban 4:1. Justice Nagarathna said it needed an Act of Parliament.
The note made for the swap was withdrawn but stays legal tender. 98.47% was back by April 2026.
No. Banknotes hit ₹41.24 lakh crore, up 11.9% in a year. Fake ₹500 notes rose 20.5%.
UPI handled 24.07 billion payments in September 2026, up from about 2 million in December 2016.
A fast currency swap and a digital push, but almost all the cash returned and fakes came back.
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