A viral YouTube video claimed that Rs 500 notes will be discontinued by 2026. The Government of India has termed this claim as completely false. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has clarified that Rs 500 notes are still legally valid. The government has appealed to the people not to pay attention to such rumors.
A video on YouTube claimed that Rs 500 notes will be discontinued by 2026. This video has been going viral for the last few days. This video reminds people of the year 2016 when 500 and one thousand rupee notes were declared invalid. But the question is, will the Rs 500 notes really be discontinued again by the year 2026?
The answer is that nothing like this is going to happen. The Government of India has termed this claim as completely false. The government clarified that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not made any such announcement.
What was claimed in the video?
The viral video was uploaded on June 2 by a YouTube channel named ‘Capital TV’. It was said in the video that Rs 500 notes will gradually be discontinued from March 2025. More than 5 lakh people have watched this 12-minute video. In the video, the anchor claims citing sources that Rs 500 notes will be discontinued after the year 2026.
Is the ₹500 note set to be phased out by 2026? 🤔
A #YouTube video on the YT Channel ‘CAPITAL TV’ (capitaltvind) falsely claims that the RBI will discontinue the circulation of ₹500 notes by March 2026.#PIBFactCheck
✔️@RBI has made NO such announcement.
✔️₹500 notes have… pic.twitter.com/NeJdcc72z2
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) June 3, 2025
The government has done a fact check
The fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Government of India posted on X, “500 rupee notes have not been banned and are fully legally valid.”
PIB appealed to people not to believe or spread such false news. The fact-checking unit advised, “Always verify news from official sources.”
