Despite cash crunch, withdrawal limit may not be relaxed after Dec 30

The current limit on cash withdrawal from ATMs is Rs 24,000 per week and Rs 2,500 per day.

News Desk
Dec 26, 2016

The cash withdrawal limit from ATM is likely to extend beyond December 30 as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not able print and meet the demand of new currency notes in the market.

Reports suggest that RBI is not able to match up the pace with the requirements of the new currency notes. As a result of this banks at many places are not able to meet the current weekly limit of disbursing the cash, limit being Rs 24,000 per week.

Post demonetisation, the government had fixed a limit on cash withdrawal from ATMs and that is Rs 24,000 per week and Rs 2,500 per day.

According to the reports a senior public sector bank official said that as per the opinions of most of the bank officials the withdrawal limit can not be completely removed. However, if the cash situations will improve then it is likely that restrictions on limit could be relaxed.

The official further went on to say that in order to meet the public demand the practical way would be to relax the constraint gradually as the banks are struggling to meet the demand of individual customers, it would be impossible to service MSME and big corporate sectors which require cash in bulk.

Earlier this month on December 15 the announcement of printing more of Rs 500 notes in order to alleviate the ongoing cash crunch was made. It came amid complaints that not enough new currency notes are being injected into circulation.

Shaktikanta Das, Secretary at India’s Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), also said that the new currency notes couldn’t be ‘counterfeited’.