Weeks after the government demonetised high value currency and introduced Rs. 2000 notes, the Reserve Bank of India and the Finance Ministry made a series of announcements, and even modified its earlier ones depending on people’s reaction.
Read all of them at a glance below:
No more exchange
Scrapped Rs. 1000 and Rs. 500 notes will no longer be exchanged at banks. From November 25, they can be exchanged only at RBI. However, these notes can be deposited at banks.
Earlier, banks were applying indelible ink mark on the right index finger of customers in select metro cities, to stop repeat money exchange with invalid currency notes.
No more old notes
Though old Rs. 500 notes were accepted in places such as petrol pumps, government hospitals, airports, and for paying government-related utility dues, Finance Ministry will be stopping this arrangement from Friday midnight.
Toll collection resumes
Commuters will now have to pay at toll plazas to ply in National Highways. Toll plazas will accept scrapped Rs.500 currency notes, provided the toll fee is higher than Rs. 200.
“The old Rs. 500 notes will be accepted till the midnight of December 15, but this will only be for purchasing FASTags and for making toll payments of more than Rs 200,” the Road Transport and Highways Ministry said in a statement.
Cap on Jan Dhan withdrawals
The RBI, in a notification issued on November 29, 2016, said Jan Dhan account holders can withdraw only up to Rs. 10,000 a month. The move was to protect rural account holders from activities of money laundering and legal consequences under the Benami Property Transaction & Money Laundering laws, it said.
Push to go cashless
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged for a movement to turn India into a cashless society. He asked young people to teach mobile banking and other e-commerce technology to at least 10 families.
The government scrapped excise duty on point of service (POS) machines, waived off transaction charges on card payments till year-end, and also announced incentives such as cancellation of service charges in certain category to help promote electronic payments using debit card, Internet and mobile phones.
The government is widely publicising Unified Payment Interface (UPI), mobile wallets and prepaid cards.
Disclose bank transactions
Mr. Modi on November 29, 2016, asked BJP MPs, Ministers and MLAs to declare their bank transactions from November 8 (the day Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes were demonetised) to December 31 to party president Amit Shah by January 1, 2017. With this step, the BJP wants to add more credibility to its anti-black money drive.
Amendments to IT Act
The Centre on November 28, introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha — a proposal to impose 50 per cent tax on undeclared income that is voluntarily disclosed till December 30, following which 82.5 per cent (75 per cent tax and 10 per cent of such tax as penalty) could be levied on undeclared income detected by authorities. The tax changes are intended to supplement the demonetisation move targeted at curbing black money, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Withdrawal limits eased
The RBI on November 28, 2016 said that if deposits had been made in legal tender, then depositors could withdraw that amount over and above the Rs. 24,000 weekly limit. The move was aimed at allowing comfort to individuals who were hesitant to deposit legal tender following the withdrawal of high-value currency notes which came into effect from November 9.
Opposition protests
A nationwide shutdown was called by Left parties against the demonetisation of high value currency. It evoked partial response. The Congress decided not to participate in the bandh. While the Left parties, including the CPI(M) and the CPI, called a 12-hour bandh to protest against the move in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress did not join it but held protests.
Leniency to farmers
To ensure sowing in the Rabi season, the government has allowed farmers to withdraw Rs. 25,000 a week against crop loan/kisan credit card. Traders in agricultural mandis will be permitted to draw Rs. 50,000 in cash per week to pay for sundry expenses like wages. While the time limit for payment of crop loan insurance premium has been extended by 15 days, government employees up to Group C have been given an option to draw salary advance in cash.
