Committed to easing citizens' pain: RBI Governor

Patel also said the RBI has announced an incremental Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of 100 per cent ‘because of the large increase in deposits of banks on account of the return of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes’ and the decision would be reviewed immediately once the government issues adequate quantum of Market Stablisation Scheme (MSS) bonds which they have promised to do. Patel said the situation arising out of the decision to withdraw Rs 500/Rs1,000 notes is being monitored on a daily basis and the printing presses have started to rebalance the production of new notes towards Rs 100 and Rs 500 bills. He also urged the people to start using cash substitutes like debit cards and digital wallets, saying it will make transactions cheaper and easier and in the long term, it will help India “leapfrog into a less cash-use economy at par with more developed nations.” “We are also urging banks to make a big push with Point of Sale (PoS) machines with traders so that debit card use becomes more prevalent,” he said. Giving details of the steps being taken by RBI, he said, “Both RBI and government have been getting the printing presses to work at full capacity to get the new notes available to meet demand. “The RBI is interacting with the banks every day. They are telling us that the situation is gradually easing. The queues in branches and ATMs are shorter and the markets are starting to function,” Patel said.