According to a press release dated 22 January 2014, the Reserve Bank of India has announced that all banknotes issued prior to 2005 are to be withdrawn from circulation as of 1 April 2014. The affected notes are easily identified by their lack of a printed date at lower center on back (up to B278). The notes remain legal tender, but after 1 July 2014, “to exchange more than 10 pieces of 500- or 1,000-rupee notes, non-customers will have to furnish proof of identity and residence to the bank branch in which she/he wants to exchange the notes.
Courtesy of Jinesh Joseph.