Cash Exchange New rules and updates have been announced by the government today in regards to currency demonetisation, which will be in effect from November 18, 2016. Here is a quick look at all the recent announcements.
The one-time limit of exchanging notes — which initially started with Rs 4,000, extended up to Rs 4,500 — will go down to Rs 2,000 for each person from Friday. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said this would give more people a chance to exchange banned Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes. In a step to give a breather to the families preparing for weddings, the government has allowed for withdrawal of Rs 2.5 lakh from one bank account in the family. However, this will only be permitted for those accounts that are Know Your Customer (KYC) compliant. Das said, “One member of the family, be it father or mother can withdraw upto Rs 2.5 lakhs for a wedding.” The amount can be withdrawn on producing the PAN card details and also providing an undertaking that no other member will withdraw such an amount for the same purpose. Now farmers will be able to withdraw money up to Rs 25,000 per week from the payment they receive for agriculture produce in the form of a cheque or through RTGS. The government has decided to increase the time limit for payment of crop insurance premium to 15 days. Registered traders at mandis will be able to withdraw up to Rs 50,000 per week to meet labour costs. All the accounts of farmers and traders must be KYC compliant. Central government employees, up to group C, can draw their salary in advance up to Rs 10,000 in cash, Das said. This will be adjusted against their November salaries, he added.
On ATM re-calibration
Das mentioned that Task Force held a meeting and a road-map has been formed to re-calibrate all the ATMs with new Rs 2,000 notes and ensured that it will be done soon.
Indelible Ink
To stop same people from thronging banks with invalid currency notes, especially those looking to convert their black money through different people, banks have started applying indelible ink mark on the right-hand index finger of customers in the select metro cities. The use of indelible ink is supposed to prevent same people from queuing up, again and again, thus helping more people get the opportunity to exchange their notes.
The indelible ink is the same ink that is used during elections. It is no ordinary ink, and once it is applied on the finger, it remains for few months. This means those who get marked with this ink will not be able to exchange notes again. There have been no other clarifications in this regard so far.
The Logical Indian take
Daily changes to the rules are causing confusion among the citizens. An easier method would be to observe the proceedings for a few days and then announce the next set of changes and rules.
