Miss Alone
Prime VIP
Finance minister Arun Jaitley has ruled out rollback of demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes and said the massive operation to replace high denomination currency will soon be over, paving the way for current restrictions on banking to be lifted.
Jaitley also admitted that the exchange window of Rs 4,500 a day had been misused and this had led to the government reducing the amount to Rs 2,000 in a bid to curb use of "currency mules" to change illegal wealth to new notes.
"The queues are becoming smaller. Deposits and withdrawals are progressing well... With this (however), the facility to exchange Rs 4,500 has been misused. The government will not accept this misuse. This amount has been reduced," the FM said.
The minister firmly ruled out any reconsideration of the demonetisation decision. "Let me make it clear, there is no question of a rollback that AAP and Trinamool have called for. This is a clear decision of the government, of the PM, to clean up polity and the economic system. And we will stand firm," he said.
Jaitley also questioned Congress's vested interest in opposing action against black money.
The minister said recalibration of ATMs for delivery of new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes had picked up pace. "Some 22,500 ATMs were recalibrated today (Thursday). This will ease pressure as new notes will begin to circulate freely," he said.
Jaitley said he wanted to assure citizens that there was no shortage of currency. "As far as RBI's printing and currency is concerned, it began its work six months ago. It is sufficient and it will keep coming into the market every day," he said.
The minister said he hoped for support from all political parties but the government would not heed calls to halt the action against black money. "To find some reason or the other to prevent black money and crime money from being replaced is not acceptable," he said.
The government, sources said, was keeping a close watch on the exchange facility being misused by persons seeking to change old currency hoards and this option would be reviewed once ATM functioning normalised.
he exchange allows those without bank accounts to change currency and government estimates that many needing to do so in an above-board manner have done so. The window will not be shut abruptly but the disincentives for those seeking to launder money as well as for the "mules" will rise with the reduction of the daily amount. The government has eased restrictions by allowing withdrawals for farm use and marriages though there is concern that these exemptions may also be misused.
However, the dependence on cash in these transactions has forced a rethink with the government calculating that the scale of evasions through such channels will remain limited.
Jaitley also admitted that the exchange window of Rs 4,500 a day had been misused and this had led to the government reducing the amount to Rs 2,000 in a bid to curb use of "currency mules" to change illegal wealth to new notes.
"The queues are becoming smaller. Deposits and withdrawals are progressing well... With this (however), the facility to exchange Rs 4,500 has been misused. The government will not accept this misuse. This amount has been reduced," the FM said.
The minister firmly ruled out any reconsideration of the demonetisation decision. "Let me make it clear, there is no question of a rollback that AAP and Trinamool have called for. This is a clear decision of the government, of the PM, to clean up polity and the economic system. And we will stand firm," he said.
Jaitley also questioned Congress's vested interest in opposing action against black money.
The minister said recalibration of ATMs for delivery of new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes had picked up pace. "Some 22,500 ATMs were recalibrated today (Thursday). This will ease pressure as new notes will begin to circulate freely," he said.
Jaitley said he wanted to assure citizens that there was no shortage of currency. "As far as RBI's printing and currency is concerned, it began its work six months ago. It is sufficient and it will keep coming into the market every day," he said.
The minister said he hoped for support from all political parties but the government would not heed calls to halt the action against black money. "To find some reason or the other to prevent black money and crime money from being replaced is not acceptable," he said.
The government, sources said, was keeping a close watch on the exchange facility being misused by persons seeking to change old currency hoards and this option would be reviewed once ATM functioning normalised.
he exchange allows those without bank accounts to change currency and government estimates that many needing to do so in an above-board manner have done so. The window will not be shut abruptly but the disincentives for those seeking to launder money as well as for the "mules" will rise with the reduction of the daily amount. The government has eased restrictions by allowing withdrawals for farm use and marriages though there is concern that these exemptions may also be misused.
However, the dependence on cash in these transactions has forced a rethink with the government calculating that the scale of evasions through such channels will remain limited.
