17:54 Cash crunch: SBI Research pegs shortfall at Rs 70,000 crore

Even as government and Reserve Bank have asserted that there is no currency shortage, SBI Research today pegged the cash shortfall in the system at a whopping Rs 70,000 crore, which is a third of the monthly withdrawals at ATMs.

In a note that comes a day after reports of currency shortages made national headlines, it depended on nominal economic growth, currency with the public and the rise in digital transactions to arrive at the shortfall estimate.

A 9.8 percent nominal GDP growth would have taken the currency available with the public to Rs 19.4 trillion by March 2018, as against the actual availability of Rs 17.5 trillion, it said, stressing that the gap of Rs 1.9 trillion is not the shortfall. (PTI)

15:41 Corruption has only multiplied since demonetisation, says Priyanka Chaturvedi

Congress' All India Congress Committtee convenor Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday said that corruption has only multiplied since demonetisation.

Chaturvedi stated that the BJP’s cash reserves have increased by over 80 percent. "Where has this money come from? Who benefited from demonetisation?" she questioned.

"The plan behind demonetisation was to take India towards a digital economy. But there is more cash in the system after demonetisation. What was the achievement of demonetisation? The people of the country have been cheated," Chaturvedi said.

The Congress convenor added that over 13 states are facing a cash crunch, Rs 7 lakh crores have gone out of supply and the govt has deprived people of the money they need during the wedding and sowing season.

14:56 There is no such crisis, says Axis Bank on cash crunch

When asked about its ATMs, private sector Axis Bank said it has enough cash, which is "better than the industry average and there is no such crisis".

"Even if there are cases of ATMs running out of money it is because people from other banks are coming to withdraw money," a Axis Bank official told PTI.

The Reserve Bank had said last evening that there was no shortage of currency even as it has ramped up printing of notes at all its four presses.

The finance ministry too had said printing of Rs 500 notes was being increased five-fold.

14:54 Cash situation at ATMs improving, says SBI

India's largest lender SBI said today that cash availability at its ATMs has increased in the past 24 hours following reports of currency shortages and ATMs running dry from different parts of the country.

Several other lenders, including PNB, Canara Bank and Axis Bank claimed that cash shortage at ATMs was limited to select pockets.

Unusual spurt in demand for currency led to many ATMs and banks running out of cash in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, poll-bound Karnataka and some other states even as the government and the RBI assured the public that there was no currency shortage.

"Availability of cash in SBI ATM has improved in the last 24 hours. Efforts are being made on a continuous basis to improve the cash availability further in a few geographies. Overall issue of less cash should come to normalcy within soonest possible time, " said Neeraj Vyas, DMD (Chief Operating Officer), SBI.

In a statement by SBI, he further said that the bank is constantly monitoring the situation and making immense efforts to ensure the supply of currency in abundance at all our ATMs.

A SBI spokesperson said that in general, the normalcy rates at the bank's ATMs remains at 92 per cent. "It had dropped to around 85 per cent yesterday. But the situation has improved today."

14:22 Is govt planning to discontinue Rs 2000 notes, asks TMC MP

Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi today asked the government to come out with the "real reasons" behind the cash crunch across the country, including whether there are plans to discontinue the Rs 2,000 denomination notes.

"I feel that the real reason for the cash crunch is because the government has perhaps decided to discontinue the Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes," Trivedi, who is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, said here.

Demanding an immediate statement from the government on "the truth behind the cash crunch", he told PTI that "the people have a right to know and you cannot hoodwink them in a democracy."

Asking whether the printing of the Rs 2,000 notes has been stopped, the Lok Sabha member said "the government should not hide facts from the people" and added that he has himself not been getting this high value currency note from the banks over the past few months.

Referring to the demonetisation exercise in 2016, Trivedi said the Rs 2,000 denomination notes were brought in then to match the quantum of money that had gone out of circulation due to the scrapping of the old Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currencies.

Several opposition parties had yesterday questioned the cash crunch, with Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asking whether there was a financial emergency in the country.

In a tweet, she had said "Seeing reports of ATMs running out of cash in several States. Big notes missing. Reminder of #DeMonetisation days. Is there a Financial Emergency going on in the country? #CashCrunch #CashlessATMs."

14:11 Amid cash crunch, Ahmedabad police tweets to pay challan online

Amid cash crunch, Ahmedabad police has put out a tweet asking traffic offenders to pay their challan online and not make excuses of cash shortage when caught by the traffic police.

"Get a good excuse next time! Now you can pay your e-challan online. Visit the website and enter your Vehicle Registration Number to fetch details and Pay Challan. Official Website - https://payahmedabadechallan.org," Ahmedabad police tweeted.

13:4 76.24% ATMs are functional, says govt

Over 76.24 percent ATMs are functional so far and the government expects 80 percent of them to be functional by tomorrow, reports ET Now.

The government has assessed the possible reasons behind the high demand, a government official told the channel.

The official added that the sudden cash crunch may be partly due to higher procurement under MSP by the government and subsidy payments.

13:38 Cash Crunch likely due to higher food grain procurement under MSP

A government official says that the sudden cash crunch is likely due to higher food grain procurement under MSP, reports CNBC TV18.

"RBI has over Rs 2 lakh crore worth of smaller denominated currency notes," the official added.

13:23 Cash shortage neither sudden nor temporary, says Telangana minister KT Rama Rao

Telangana minister KT Rama Rao on Tuesday said in a tweet that the ongoing cash crunch situation is neither sudden nor temporay.

"Sir, with due respect the cash shortage in Banks & ATMs is neither sudden nor temporary. I’ve been hearing complaints for over 3 months repeatedly in Hyderabad," Rao tweeted.

Rao asked the RBI and Finance Ministry team to dig deeper and not brush away an issue that is eroding people’s confidence in banking system.

13:14 Nearly 80% ATMs will function within 24 hours

Govt has started video conferencing with PSBs on cash situation. It assured that nearly 80 percent of the ATMs will start functioning within a day, reports CNBC TV18.

13:08 Govt halts printing of Rs 2000 notes

Department of Economic Affairs secretary Subhas Garg said that Rs 2000 note is not being printed for the past few days. He, however, added that this does not affect the overall supply of Rs 2,000 notes.

The government suspects Rs 2,000 notes were being hoarded and it plans to increase five-fold the printing of Rs 500 notes.

11:46 "Another week with bad headlines for the BJP with Cash Crunch, after Kathua and Unnao which was after SC/ST Act. Bad times for the BJP. Bura Waqt. All those fundamentalists, pray harder you guys," Chetan Bhagat tweets.

10:44 Sufficient cash in the system, says SBI Chairman

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar in an interview to CNBC-TV18 backed Jaitley's statement, saying that there is enough currency in circulation.

"Currency in circulation is at Rs 18.29 lakh crore. There is sufficient cash in the system,"Kumar said.

The Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have stepped in to tackle the shortage of cash in several states.

"The government has formed state-wise committee and RBI also formed committee to transfer currency from one state to other. It will be done in 3 days," state MoS Finance Shiv Shukla said.

10:30 ATMs across the country go dry, govt steps in to allay fears

Unusual spurt in currency demand in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh as well as poll-bound Karnataka led to dry ATMs in several parts of the country, sending the government scrambling to make contingency plans to cover the deficit.

The government said it suspects that Rs 2,000 notes were being hoarded and plans to increase 5-fold the printing of Rs 500 notes. Within a month, it said, Rs 70,000-75,000 crore will be printed.

The Reserve Bank said the printing of currency has been ramped up in all the four note presses, and the shortage in some pockets is due to logistical issues.

ATMs of both public and private sector lenders in several cities were either not operating or showed no cash signs, a situation that officials insisted was not alarming and did not warrant panic. Cities and towns across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh were impacted by the cash crunch. Some ATMs downed shutters with 'No cash' and 'Out of service' signs, prompting the government to move currency from surplus regions. Some ATMs in national capital Delhi too went dry.

Political leaders from Rahul Gandhi of Congress to TMC's Mamata Banerjee trained guns on the government saying ATMs running dry was a reminder of demonetisation days. While Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured hassled customers that the government will fix the problem quickly, officials attributed the cash crunch to crop procurement and hoarding of high denomination currency ahead of elections in Karnataka.

Such crisis was however not witnessed in any of the previous procurement seasons.

10:24 P Chidambaram slams govt for cash crunch; says supply 'arbitrarily reduced'

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday slammed the government for the cash crunch in some parts of the country, saying cash supply had been "arbitrarily reduced".

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said as a rule, cash supply must grow at the same rate as the economy is growing and the government was obliged to provide as much cash as people need at any given time.

"A government is obliged to provide as much cash as the people need at any given time. Government or RBI cannot arbitrarily control the supply of cash. If RBI has injected sufficient cash, it is obliged to tell the people why there is a cash shortage," he said.

Chidambaram alleged the cash shortage may be because cash supply had been "arbitrarily reduced". Currency shortage was reported from several parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and poll-bound Karnataka, among other states. Several ATMs in the national capital also saw long queues and soon ran out of cash.

10:19 Cash crunch issue will be sorted in 2-3 days: Dinabandhu Mohapatra

Dinabandhu

Mohapatra

TV18

Bank Of India CEOrequested people to not panic assuring that there is adequate cash in the system and the cash crunch issue will be sorted in 2-3 days in an interview to CNBC

"Cash situation is under control and banks have adequate cash. The government has asked to waive cash handling charges levied by banks," Mohapatra added.

10:07 ATM cash crunch to be resolved in 5-7 days: Rajiv Kumar

Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said that the ATM cash crunch in various parts of the country would be normalised in five to seven days.

According to the Ministry of Finance's statement, the country has seen an unusual spurt in currency demand in the past three months. The statement added that this unusual spurt in demand was seen more in some parts of the country -- Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.

10:04 Cash crisis tells how PM Modi's demonetisation disaster is still wreaking havoc: Sitaram Yechury

CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury said, "ATMs were empty in November 2016. ATMs are empty now. And the only party flush with cash is the BJP: People suffer."

Referring to the government's demonetisation decision in November 2016, when the government had announced withdrawal of the then Rs 500/1000 notes and subsequently introduced new Rs 2,000 notes, Yechury said the country is still paying the price of "a sudden midnight Firman (order) of demonetisation".

In a series of tweets, he said the demonetisation did not kill terrorism and it did not kill corruption or fake currency either. "But it has certainly killed the Indian economy. The cash crisis tells us how Modi's demonetisation disaster is still wreaking havoc," he added.

10:00 In Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the cash crunch was a reminder of the demonetisation days. "Seeing reports of ATMs running out of cash in several states. Big notes missing. Reminder of Demonetisation days. Is there a Financial Emergency going on in the country?" she said in a tweet.

09:59 Cash shortage due to logistical issues, says RBI

The Reserve Bank of India said that the shortage may be felt in some pockets largely due to logistical issues of replenishing ATMs frequently and the recalibration of ATMs being still underway. "RBI is closely monitoring both these aspects,” the bank regulator said.

However, as a matter of precaution, RBI is taking steps to move currency to areas which are witnessing unusually large cash withdrawals, the banking regulator added.

An estimated 10-12 percent of the total ATMs are facing cash crunch. The government estimates the situation will normalise in the next week.

RBI and government have formed committees in states to ensure adequate stock of currency. The supply of Rs 500 and Rs 200 notes will be stepped up in the next few days, officials said.

09:52 Opposition says 'terror of note ban' has returned as 'financial emergency'

Opposition parties on Tuesday slammed the government over cash crunch in ATMs and banks in several parts of the country, saying the "terror of note ban" has returned to haunt the people and dubbed the situation as a "financial emergency".

On the back foot, the government attributed the cash shortage to an unusual spurt in demand in last three months, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the "temporary shortage" in certain states is being "tackled quickly" and that there is "more than adequate" currency in circulation.

Currency shortage was reported from several parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and poll-bound Karnataka, among other states.

Several ATMs in the national capital also saw long queues and soon ran out of cash. In his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said the "terror of note-ban" has again gripped the country and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of destroying the banking system with his demonetisation decision.

The Congress chief also took to Twitter to attack Modi, alleging he "snatched" the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes from the pocket of every Indian and "gave" it to Nirav Modi, but was neither speaking a word about it nor facing Parliament. Nirav Modi, an accused in the alleged Rs 12,700-crore scam at state-run Punjab National Bank, has been absconding.

09:50 More than adequate currency in circulation, says FM Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said that there is more than adequate currency in circulation and with the banks after acknowledging that there have been reports of cash crunch in may states.

The FM stated that the ministry has reviewed the currency situation and the shortage is caused due to ‘sudden and unusual increase’ in some areas, which is being tackled quickly.

“There has been unusual spurt in currency demand in the country in last three months. In the current month, in the first 13 days itself, the currency supply increased by Rs45,000 crore. This unusual spurt in demand is seen more in some parts of the country like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry added that both the government and Reserve Bank of India “have taken all steps to meet this unusual demand”.

09:44 Jammu and Kashmir Bank says restores cash supply in Kashmir valley

Jammu and Kashmir Bank on Tuesday said it has restored sufficient cash supply in the valley with the timely support of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

"Amid a scenario wherein most of the states in India are facing cash crunch and chain of ATMs stand cash starved, J&K Bank with the timely support of Jammu Regional Office of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has restored sufficient cash supply in the Kashmir valley," a spokesman of the bank said in a statement.

Acting on the disruptions reported in the functioning of ATMs due to cash starvation, J&K Bank requested the RBI to mitigate the sufferings of the people by providing sufficient cash in the valley.

Several ATMs across the valley had gone dry after deficient cash supplies hit the currency chests here few days ago. The cash situation had further deteriorated following three consecutive holidays last weekend.

09:37 "BJP and their friends have stolen the country's money, that's why there is no money in the ATMs,... Modi ji has destroyed the banking system of this country," Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said.

09:27 Removal of AAP advisers a tactic to divert attention from cash crunch, rapes: Raghav Chadha

AAP leader Raghav Chadha said today that his removal as an adviser to the Delhi government, along with eight others, was a tactic to divert the people's attention from the incidents of rape and the cash crunch in ATMs and banks in some parts of the country.

"Impressive diversionary tactics by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs), at the behest of BJP. To divert attention from spate of rapes, cash crunch, etc., an opportune time to rake up non-issues with AAP like retrospective sacking for a post I held for 45 days in 2016 for a paltry sum of Rs 2.50," Chadha tweeted.

Chadha, who is a chartered accountant, was appointed as an adviser to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia from January 16 to March 31 2016 to "use his talent" in preparation of the budget.

A former treasurer of the AAP, Chadha is a known to be close to both Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia.

According to an order issued by the General Administration Department of the Delhi government, the MHA had written in its letter that the posts of advisers are not in the list of posts approved for the ministers and the chief minister of Delhi.

Appointment of nine advisers was accordingly cancelled. Among the eight other advisers whose appointment has been cancelled are Amardeep Tiwari (media advisor to law minister), Arunodya Prakash (media advisor to deputy chief minister), and Atishi Marlena (media advisor to deputy chief minister).

Good morning reader, this blog will keep you posted on developments around the ongoing cash crunch across the country.