Demonetisation: Govt may not extend Dec 30 deadline for old note deposits

Government today said sufficient cash is available withRBI and banks, and it is not considering extending the deadline of December 30for deposit of invalid Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

The statement was made in theRajya Sabha even as people queued up at banks to deposit old high value notesand withdraw new cash. There is sufficient cash available with the Reserve Bankof India and banks.

Circulation of notes in respect of Rs 100 has already beenincreased, Minister of State for Finance Arun Ram Meghwal said in a writtenreply. On whether the December 30 deadline will be extended, he said, No suchproposal for extension of deadline beyond December 30, 2016, is presently underconsideration of the government.

To cater to the requirements of rural areas,banks have been advised to supply notes of smaller denominations (Rs 100 andless), Meghwal added. As on November 8, the day demonetisation was announced,there were 1,716.50 crore pieces of Rs 500 and 685.80 crore Rs 1,000 notes incirculation. To another question, Minister of State for Finance Santosh KumarGangwar said RBI advises banks from time to time to enhance securityarrangements at their branches and ATMs.

This include coverage of ATM sites byCCTVs and ensuring adequate training of security staff posted there. Banks havealso been advised to review and strengthen the security arrangements in theirbranches/ATMs to deal with instances of robberies and risk perceptions emergingfrom such incidents. PTI NKD CS ARD 11291539