According to Reserve Bank of India instructions issued in January 2014, currency notes printed before which year were to be withdrawn from circulation?

Introduction / Context:
Questions on banking policy often appear in exams to test awareness of important regulatory decisions. In January 2014, the Reserve Bank of India issued an advisory about withdrawing older design banknotes to improve security features and standardise the currency in circulation. The key detail is the cut off year used to define which notes would be considered old series. Knowing this year is important for understanding the context of currency management in India.

Given Data / Assumptions:
• The decision mentioned is by the Reserve Bank of India in January 2014. • The instruction was to call back or withdraw banknotes issued before a certain year. • The options list 2008, 2010, 2005, 2007, and 2009. • We assume the question refers to the advisory about pre 2005 banknotes.

Concept / Approach:
The RBI announced that all banknotes issued prior to 2005 would be withdrawn in a phased manner. Notes printed before 2005 did not have the year of printing on the reverse, making it easy to distinguish them from newer notes. The purpose of the withdrawal was to remove older, less secure designs and to keep only banknotes with improved security features in circulation. Therefore, the critical fact is that the cut off year chosen by RBI was 2005, and all notes issued before that year were categorised as old series for withdrawal, even though they continued as legal tender for a transition period.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that the RBI used the term pre 2005 banknotes in its advisory. Step 2: Understand that pre 2005 clearly means notes issued before the year 2005. Step 3: Look at the options and identify 2005 as the only year that matches this widely publicised policy term. Step 4: Eliminate the other years, because they do not appear in the phrase used by RBI. Step 5: Choose 2005 as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
If you refer to press releases and notifications of the Reserve Bank of India from January 2014, you will see that they specifically mention banknotes issued prior to 2005 being withdrawn. These documents explain that such notes do not carry the year of printing on the reverse side and that banks would gradually remove them from circulation, while still honouring them as legal tender during the exchange period. Later clarifications and extensions kept the same cut off year of 2005. No official RBI communication speaks of a different cut off year like 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010 for this particular policy, which confirms that 2005 is correct.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
• 2008 does not match the term pre 2005 and is not cited in official RBI language about this withdrawal exercise. • 2010 is related to later series of notes and has nothing to do with the specific advisory issued in early 2014. • 2007 is not used as a benchmark year in the RBI notifications for withdrawing old series notes. • 2009 also does not appear in the relevant RBI documents, so choosing it would contradict the actual policy wording.

Common Pitfalls:
• Confusing this withdrawal of pre 2005 notes with later demonetisation events involving specific denominations. • Misremembering the year as some other mid 2000s date instead of the exact 2005 threshold. • Ignoring the clue in the phrase pre 2005 that links directly to the correct option.

Final Answer:
According to RBI instructions issued in January 2014, currency notes printed before the year 2005 were to be withdrawn from circulation in a phased manner.