Cash shortage problem to be resolved by Friday, says SBI chief

SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar says there are certain areas where there is a problem with running of ATMs and availability of cash of particular denomination.

The problem of cash crunch being faced by some states will be resolved by Friday as currency is being transported to areas which are facing the shortage, SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar said on Thursday.

Kumar said there were certain areas where there was a problem with running of ATMs and availability of cash of particular denomination.

“It is not a uniform cash crunch problem. It is there in geographies like Telangana and Bihar. We are hoping that the problem will be resolved by tomorrow because cash is in transition and it is reaching these states by today evening,” Kumar said on Thursday.

The finance ministry said earlier this week that there was an unusual spurt in demand in some parts of the country like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. In the first 13 days of the current month, the currency demand went up by Rs 45,000 crore.

Holding accountable those who are hoarding cash, Kumar said the money should be recycled, meaning that if people withdraw money from the bank and the money needs to be deposited back as well.

“If we (people) hold everything, then whatever supply we (banks) do, it will be insufficient for the country. So it is important that the currency is also recycled,” he said.

Economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg earlier this week said the government suspected that Rs 2,000 notes were being hoarded as they were not coming back into the circulation fast enough. To deal with currency shortage, the printing of Rs 500 notes has been increased by five times.