RBI withdraws 268 currency-management circulars issued between 1976 and 2025 after consolidating them into Master Directions
RBI has withdrawn 268 circulars and guidelines on currency management, dated from 9 August 1976 to 24 April 2025. Some have been consolidated into function-wise Master Directions and subject-specific instructions; others have become obsolete or redundant. A separate circular of the same day lets a bank’s Board delegate monitoring of ATM cassette swaps to a Committee of Executives.
Key facts
- Published
- 1 October 2026
- Section
- FEMA & RBI
- What it is
- Rule change
- In force
- Circulars dated 1 October 2026
- Who it affects
- All banks, currency chest branches, cash management and compliance teams, ATM operations
In 30 seconds
- Circular RBI/2026-27/274, DCM (IFCD).No.S2096/06.08.002/2026-27, is dated 1 October 2026 and addressed to all banks.
- The review is part of RBI’s ongoing initiative to rationalise the regulatory framework.
- The Annex lists 268 withdrawn instructions — the oldest dated 9 August 1976, the latest 24 April 2025.
- The list includes the yearly Master Circulars / Master Directions on exchange of notes and coins, counterfeit notes, currency chest reporting penalties and the incentive and penalty schemes for bank branches.
- It also includes the circulars issued from November 2016 to February 2017 on withdrawal of legal tender character of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes.
- By circular RBI/2026-27/273 of the same date, monitoring of cassette-swap implementation in ATMs may be delegated by the Board to a Committee of Executives of the bank.
हिंदी में सार
RBI ने 1 अक्टूबर 2026 के सर्कुलर (RBI/2026-27/274) से करेंसी मैनेजमेंट से जुड़े 268 पुराने सर्कुलर/दिशानिर्देश वापस ले लिए हैं, जो 9 अगस्त 1976 से 24 अप्रैल 2025 के बीच जारी हुए थे। इनमें से कुछ को कार्य-वार Master Directions में समेट दिया गया है और बाक़ी अप्रचलित या अनावश्यक हो चुके थे। उसी दिन के एक अलग सर्कुलर से ATM में cassette swap की प्रगति की निगरानी बोर्ड अब बैंक की Committee of Executives को सौंप सकता है।
What RBI has done
By circular RBI/2026-27/274, DCM (IFCD).No.S2096/06.08.002/2026-27 dated 1 October 2026, addressed to the Chairman / Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of all banks, the Reserve Bank of India has withdrawn a long list of instructions on currency management.
RBI says that, in pursuance of its ongoing initiative to rationalise the regulatory framework, it reviewed the instructions issued on currency management related matters. The exercise involved consolidating the extant circulars and guidelines into function-wise Master Directions and subject-specific instructions.
Accordingly, the instructions listed in the Annex stand withdrawn. The circular puts them in two groups:
- those which have been consolidated into Master Directions; and
- those which have become obsolete or redundant.
The Annex does not mark which circular falls in which group.
The size of the list
The Annex has 268 entries. The first is a circular of 9 August 1976 on facilities to the public for exchange of soiled and slightly mutilated notes; the last is the Master Direction of 24 April 2025 on the framework of incentives for the Currency Distribution & Exchange Scheme.
What kind of instructions are on it
| Subject | Examples from the Annex |
|---|---|
| Exchange of notes and coins | Delegation of powers under the Note Refund Rules to public and private sector bank branches (1985 onwards); the Master Circulars / Master Directions on “Facility for Exchange of Notes and Coins” up to 1 April 2025; acceptance of coins |
| Counterfeit notes | Master Circulars / Master Directions on detection, impounding, reporting and monitoring of counterfeit notes, up to 1 April 2025; issue of receipt to tenderers; filing of FIR |
| Currency chests | Penal interest / penal provisions for delayed, wrong or non-reporting of chest transactions; strong room specifications; security, CCTV coverage, insurance and fire audit; simplified procedure for opening chests |
| Customer service at branches | The scheme of incentives and penalties, and the Currency Distribution & Exchange Scheme (CDES), in their yearly versions |
| Clean Note Policy | Removal of stapling and banding of note packets; sorting of banknotes and note sorting machines |
| Withdrawal of notes and coins | Coins of 25 paise and below (2011); banknotes issued prior to 2005 (2014–2016); the circulars of November 2016 to February 2017 on ₹500 and ₹1,000 Specified Bank Notes, including cash withdrawal limits; the circular of 22 May 2023 on ₹2000 denomination banknotes |
| Others | Monitoring of availability of cash in ATMs (2021); preservation of CCTV recordings; storage of notes and coins |
The circular withdraws the documents as instructions. It does not itself state any change in the status of any note or coin, and it does not name the Master Directions into which the live instructions have been consolidated.
Same day: cassette swaps in ATMs
By a separate circular, RBI/2026-27/273, DCM (RMMT) No.S 2107/20-02-002/2026-27 dated 1 October 2026, RBI has partially modified paragraph 3 of its circular of 31 March 2022 on cassette swaps in ATMs. Monitoring the progress of implementation of cassette swap may be delegated by the Board to a Committee of Executives of the bank. A footnote says the words were substituted with effect from 1 October 2026, consequent to the Governance Amendment Directions, 2026.
What banks should do
- Remove the 268 withdrawn references from internal manuals, branch circulars, audit checklists and training material, and cite the current Master Directions and subject-specific instructions instead.
- Before dropping a practice that rested on a withdrawn circular, check whether the requirement has been carried into a Master Direction — the withdrawal covers both consolidated and obsolete instructions.
- On cassette swaps, the Board may decide whether to delegate monitoring to a Committee of Executives.
Questions and answers
How many currency-management circulars has RBI withdrawn?
The Annex to circular RBI/2026-27/274 dated 1 October 2026 lists 268 circulars and guidelines, dated from 9 August 1976 to 24 April 2025.
Why were they withdrawn?
RBI reviewed its currency management instructions as part of its initiative to rationalise the regulatory framework. The listed instructions have either been consolidated into function-wise Master Directions and subject-specific instructions, or have become obsolete or redundant.
Does the withdrawal change the status of any banknote or coin?
The circular does not say so. It withdraws the listed circulars and guidelines as instructions and does not state any change in the status of any note or coin.
Which Master Directions replace the withdrawn circulars?
The circular says the instructions were consolidated into function-wise Master Directions and subject-specific instructions, but it does not name them.
What has changed on cassette swaps in ATMs?
By circular RBI/2026-27/273 dated 1 October 2026, monitoring the progress of implementation of cassette swap may be delegated by the Board to a Committee of Executives of the bank.
Published 1 October 2026. Updated 4 October 2026. This report is for general information and is not professional advice. Read the source document before acting on it.