With banks closed for the next three days in many cities, including in the national capital, cash-starved people likely to face difficulties in buying daily essentials. Banks are shut on Monday for Eid-e-Milad.
Meanwhile, people continue to throng banks to deposit old currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 into their accounts post demonetisation move announced by the government on November 8
Also, there has been no let-up in the crowds waiting at ATMs to withdraw cash.
Earlier, the government of Friday informed Parliament that almost 85 per cent cash dispensing machines have been recalibrated by November 30 to fit the new notes.
"Till November 30, a total of 179,614 ATMs have been recalibrated. There are 211,594 ATMs of scheduled commercial banks and 14,324 white label ATMs in the country according to September 30 data," Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
He said that the government has advised the banks to deploy micro-ATMs in the rural areas and as on December 2, a total of 1,14,036 micro-ATMs have been deployed.
He also said that scheduled commercial banks, excluding regional rural banks, do not need permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up ATMs at their branches and extension counters.
"Under some set of conditions the banks can set up ATMs at off-site locations as well," he said
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced that the currency notes worth over Rs 4.27 lakh crore have been issued to public through banks and ATMs following the central government’s decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.
"During the period from November 10, 2016 and December 7, 2016, banks have reported that banknotes worth Rs 4,27,684 crore have been issued to public either over the counter or through ATMs," RBI said.
On December7, the apex bank had informed that almost demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes worth 12 lakh crore have been deposited into banks since November 8, the day the demonetisation decision was announced.
The government on November 8 announced spiking of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to curb "black money and corruption". The spiking of the high value notes has led to a cash crunch across the country.
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