In view of the large number of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in Kerala, the State unit of the Bank Employees Federation of India has urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to open windows at the RBI offices within the State to facilitate the exchange of banned notes.
The BEFI, in a memorandum to the RBI, said there were around two million NRIs from Kerala working abroad and that they remitted a huge sum of money annually. Since most of the NRI community held a few pieces of the banned notes, they should be allowed to exchange them easily.
The RBI in a notification last week allowed NRIs and people who had recently travelled abroad to exchange their banned notes until March 31 and June 30, respectively. However, this could be done only at five offices of the RBI in the country, the nearest being Chennai.
The BEFI pointed out that since the NRI workers visited their home for a few days, it would be extremely hard and expensive to visit Chennai to get a few thousand rupees exchanged. This could be solved if the RBI opted to open special windows in Kerala for the exchange of notes by NRIs, BEFI leaders said.
