Cash crunch: ATMs are running dry across India; government says needs three days to fix problem

Agencies
April 17, 2018

New Delhi, Apr 17: ATMs in several cities across the country, operated by both state-run and private banks, are reportedly running dry. The problem seems to have affected ATMs in cities and towns across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, according to media reports.

One reason for this could be that cash withdrawals at some bank branches and their ATMs are much higher than deposits made at those branches.

An email sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), on Tuesday, seeking response on the reported cash shortage, remained unanswered when this report was published.

Commenting on the cash crunch, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley assured hassled customers that the government will resolve the problem 'quickly'. Minister of State (MoS) for Finance SP Shukla said the Centre needs three days to fix the problem. Separately, State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar told CNBC-TV18 that there is sufficient cash in the system.

Troubled customers tweeted about the non availability of cash at ATMs.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, said the situation reminded her of the demonetisation days.

Communist Party of India member Sitaram Yechury too took to twitter to express his angst.

MoS for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said: "We've cash currency of Rs 1,25,000 crore right now. There is one problem that some states have less currency and others have more. Government has formed state-wise committee and RBI also formed committee to transfer currency from one state to other. It will be done in three days."

Earlier, referring to reports of ATMs running out of cash at some places in his state, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan claimed that Rs 2,000 notes were vanishing from the market, and alleged that there is a 'conspiracy' behind their disappearance. Addressing a farmers' convention, Chouhan said: "The currency worth Rs 15,00,000 crore was in circulation before demonetisation. After this exercise [demonetisation], the currency in circulation increased to Rs 16,50,000 crore. But notes of Rs 2,000 are missing from the market."

Several states have faced cash shortages despite the fact that currency flows are now at the pre-demonetisation level. A recent analysis by the RBI has found that the rate of cash withdrawals were far more than cash deposits at banks in states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana, according to a report.

According to RBI data, currency in circulation as on 6 April was Rs 18.17 lakh crore.

Bank run

In March, the government's Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) bill triggered a bank run in two southern states. Thanks to a fear of losing their hard earned money, because of a bail-in clause in the FRDI Bill, people in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana queued up to withdraw fairly large amounts from their bank accounts. The salaried, who typically withdraw only Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 in the first few weeks of any month, were seen queuing up to draw the entire amount from ATMs immediately after their salary was credited.

ATMs ran dry immediately after the demonetisation drive was announced, on 8 November, 2016, as people rushed to pull out as much cash as possible.

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News Network
November 16,2024

Mangaluru: The Kavoor police in Mangaluru, Karnataka, have arrested three individuals from Kerala in connection with two separate cybercrime cases, including one involving extortion under the guise of a "digital arrest."

City Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal reported that one of the arrested individuals, Nisar, a resident of Ernakulam district, posed as a CBI officer. He allegedly threatened the complainant with arrest and extorted Rs 68 lakh. A case has been filed under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act, and sections 308 (2) and 381 (4) of BNS.

In another case, the Kavoor police arrested two men, Sahil K P of Thiruvannur, Kozhikode, and Muhammad Nashath of Mappila Koyilandy, Kerala, in connection with a share trade fraud. The accused are alleged to have deceived the complainant by promising substantial profits from an investment in the stock market. Trusting the fraudsters, the complainant invested Rs 90 lakh, which was subsequently lost. A case has been registered under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act, and sections 318 (4) and 3 (5) of BNS.

The accused were arrested in Koyilandi and presented before the court. The operation was carried out under the guidance of City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, led by Mangaluru North Sub-Division ACP Srikanth K, Kavoor Inspector Raghavendra Byndoor, Kavoor PSI Mallikarjuna Biradara, and staff members Ramanna Shetty, Bhuvaneshwari, Rajappa Kashibai, Praveen N, and Malatesh. 

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News Network
November 21,2024

palestainetragedy.jpg

Hamas says the Israeli regime’s sole objective lies in “erasing” the entirety of the Palestinian population from across the Palestinian territories.

Khalil al-Hayya, a ranking official with the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement, made the remarks to the Palestinian al-Aqsa TV on Wednesday.

“The occupation targets everyone—it strikes hospitals, civil defense, women, children, and the elderly,” he said, adding that the regime sought to “empty Gaza of its residents, and displace the Palestinian people to fulfill its dreams of building a Zionist Jewish state across all of Palestine.”

The remarks came amid the regime’s October 2023-present war of genocide on the coastal sliver that has so far claimed the lives of nearly 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

“This unprecedented aggression in modern times evokes scenes from the dark ages of human history, having crossed all red lines and exceeded every expectation of brutality in the modern era,” the Palestinian official lamented.

He also regretted that the regime had added “systematic and dangerous starvation to its aggression, falsely claiming before the world that it allows 250 [aid] trucks into Gaza daily. In reality, the number of trucks is far fewer.”

Hayya, meanwhile, regretted that “scenes of children torn apart, women screaming over their children, and heart-wrenching destruction have failed to stir enough humanity to stop these crimes.”

He decried the United States for vetoing the United Nations Security Council’s resolutions that are aimed at bringing about a potential ceasefire in the war, saying this indicated Washington’s “partnership in the aggression” and a simultaneous siege that the Israeli regime has been enforcing on Gaza.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the official asserted that, despite what the Israeli official is after, Hamas would not hand over the regime’s captives “without [the regime’s] stopping the war.”

He called Netanyahu “the main obstacle” in the way of cessation of the aggression, saying the Israeli premier “blocks any progress for political reasons,” and citing his preventing conclusion of a ceasefire agreement in July.

Hayya also warned that the regime sought to expand the war beyond Gaza, but asserted that its goals are “impossible and will never happen.”

“Today, the enemy exposes its true intentions of extermination and displacement, but it will fail,” he stressed.

“The Palestinian people are resilient and will not surrender, as they believe in their humanitarian and political cause. The enemy and its allies will not succeed in achieving their goals. This steadfast people will endure, and the occupation will not prevail against them.”

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News Network
November 15,2024

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Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has killed or captured 69 terrorists linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad during a major counterterrorism drill in the country's southeast, its spokesman says.  

General Ahmad Shafaei, the spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said Friday that a total of 23 terrorists have been killed and another 46 arrested in various clean-up operations ever since the IRGC Ground Force launched it in the Sistan and Baluchestan province on November 1.

Seven terrorists have also turned themselves in during the period.

“The undeniable fact about terrorists is that they rely on arrogant powers, particularly the intelligence service of the wicked and vicious Zionist regime," Shafaei said.

“Unfortunately, weapons and munitions at terrorists’ disposal are among the most sophisticated ones in the world. This accounts for their heavy dependence.” 

The official stated that several members of the disbanded terror teams were non-Iranian nationals, who had been hired by foreign intelligence agencies to carry out acts of sabotage and terror inside Iran.

In a most recent operation, six terrorists were arrested and four others were eliminated, three of whom were non-Iranians, he added. 

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.

In January, Iran launched a military operation during which the headquarters of the Pakistan-based terrorist group was targeted in missile strikes, destroying its infrastructure.

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