New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India is working overtime to ensure that the deadline of December 30 after which the cash crunch will end is maintained. Money supply to banks will increase four fold from new year, official sources said.
The supply of currency notes to bank chests and ATM outlets has suddenly come down over past ten days. In the first week of this month when the weekly withdrawal limit from bank account was fixed at 24 thousand rupees, most of the banks were giving rupees 10000 only citing short supply of cash. This has further come down to Rupees 4000 in the second week of this month. Again, reason being given is short supply of notes by the Reserve Bank of India.
By now more than 90 percent of the ATMs across the country have been ‘recalibrated’ to dispense new note of 500 and 2000 in addition to 50 and 100 rupee notes. Yet, half of ATMs in the country are dry with display board of ‘no cash’. As a result of which there are long queues and longer waiting hours at ATMs to get 2500 rupees.
Why this situation when the mint printing Press of the RBI are doing double shift of work to augment supply and availability of of more money in the liquidity channels of our banking system.
Well, the reason is a calculated decision of the government to build sufficient cash inventory notes in RBI chests.
Promise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the shortage of cash availability will ease after December 30 is less than two weeks from now. According to official sources, the cash supply would ease considerably from New Year, from January 2, 2017. The new year day- 1st January being Sunday. Bankers hope that putting more cash in the system will assure people that there is not going to be any shortage of cash and that they would be able to withdraw cash as much they want from their available balance from banks and ATMs.