Banks taking steps to make cash available with BCs: Kochhar

Banks are recalibrating ATMs and taking steps to ensure new notes are available to banking correspondents who function mostly in unbanked areas, ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar today said.

New Delhi, Nov 17: Banks are recalibrating ATMs and taking steps to ensure new notes are available to banking correspondents who function mostly in unbanked areas, ICICI Bank MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar today said.

"ATMs are being activated slowly. Under the supervision of RBI, banks are recalibrating ATMs. Not only this, but banks are taking other steps including ensuring money should reach banking correspondents and money exchangers at airports," Kochhar said here.

Meanwhile, the government today lowered the exchange limit for the now-defunct 500 and 1,000 rupee notes to Rs 2,000 from the existing cap of Rs 4,500, effective tomorrow.

Among other measures, it has allowed up to Rs 2.5 lakh cash withdrawal from bank account of a bride or groom or their parents for a marriage during the ongoing wedding season.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in his war against black money, terror financing and counterfeit notes. Since then, a lot of representations have come in to the Prime Minister and the finance minister to ease withdrawal norms for the wedding purpose.

PTI