Demonetisation of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 currency notes has not only taken the Indian citizens by surprise but also created quite a situation for the Non Resident Indians living overseas.
The ripple effect of cancellation of high value notes has been felt across the borders with huge population of Indian diaspora living in countries like the US, Canada, the UK and Dubai, among others as they suddenly found themselves holding worthless Indian currency.
“Many are irked by the fact that there is no clarity yet on how they can exchange these invalid notes and where,” said Malini who got a call from her friend Anuradha living in Canada.
Some of them plan to send the cash with their relatives or friends travelling to India to be exchanged before the deadline or to be deposited in banks here. But not many are comfortable with the idea either, Ms.Malini said.
Many NRIs who are in similar situation made attempts to exchange the cash but there are no takers as yet for want of clarity or instructions from Indian government to their embassies and High Commissions. This according to NRI sources in Toronto, became quite an issue that found coverage in the local newspapers too.
No travel plans
Syamala, a US citizen, who keeps few thousands of Indian currency mostly in high value notes, to spend during her trips to India, has no clue how she can exchange the invalid notes in her possession now. “I don’t plan to travel to India at least for next eight months nor I can exchange them with foreign currency now,” she rues.
The NRIs and Indians with US,UK citizenship have been calling their friends and families back home on how they could exchange the cash stuck with them as most of them do not have plans to travel to India in the near future.
William, who works for a UK based MNC, travels to India on work for the company’s Indian subsidiary. He called his colleagues here to ask how he could exchange the USD 400 worth Indian currency in his possession.
Sandilya, an architect who works in Dubai, said he had a few Rs.500 notes which he tried to exchange with a currency exchange firm in Dubai. But they refused to accept the cancelled Indian currency in the absence of instructions either from Indian government or the currency exchange’s head office.
“Many of us have no idea what to do with the few Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 notes we have now. There is no communication for NRIs either from the Indian government or banks so far,” he said.
