Have pre-2005 notes? Here's what you can do

Earlier, the exchange was facilitated through any bank branches, but from 1 January, only a few designated branches will accept the old notes for exchange

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday, once again, extended the date for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes with new ones to June 30 2016 from December 31.

Earlier, the exchange was facilitated through any bank branches, but from 1 January, only a few designated branches will accept the old notes for exchange, RBI said in a statement on its website. 

This is the fifth time RBI extended the deadline that started in January 2014.

The old notes, of Mahatma Gandhi series, will continue to remain legal tenders, RBI stated but needs to be changed as new notes have better security features and it was a 'standard international practice not to have currency notes from multiple series in simultaneous circulation,' RBI stated.

Image: A shopkeeper poses for a picture as he counts Indian currency notes at his shop in Jammu. Photograph: Mukesh Gupta/Reuters.