NEW DELHI: Long queues formed outside banks in India on Thursday as they reopened for the first time since the government\u2019s shock decision to withdraw the two largest denomination notes from circulation.
\nSome banks in the capital New Delhi had received the new 2,000 rupee ($30) bill and a number of ATMs were working again, two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes would no longer be legal tender in a blitz against tax evasion and corruption.
\nModi\u2019s Tuesday evening bombshell prompted a late night rush on cash machines as customers withdrew smaller notes from ATMs before they closed at midnight in preparation for the turnaround.
\n\u201cI have only come here to check if I can change my old notes for a new currency even if I don\u2019t have an account with the bank,\u201d R.P. Singh, a newspaper vendor, told AFP outside a bank in New Delhi.
\n\u201cThe real worry is how we will get essential daily supplies in the next few days as most people are short of those smaller denomination or new currency notes,\u201d he added.
\nThe government said customers would be able to exchange their old bills for new notes or deposit them in their accounts from Thursday.
\nHowever, it was unclear how many banks across the country \u2014 particularly in rural areas \u2014 had received the new 2,000 note.
\nNewly designed 500 and 1,000 rupee bills will be rolled out at a later date.
\n\u201cThe country has around 125,000 bank branches and an extensive network of post offices in rural areas, which should be enough. Let the exchange process begin and we will see if more is required,\u201d India\u2019s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said Thursday.
\nLong queues formed outside banks across the country, with some people complaining that banks and post offices, where old notes can also be exchanged, hadn\u2019t opened on time.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know what they are doing, why they haven\u2019t yet opened the bank? We have already been waiting for over two hours just to exchange our currency notes,\u201d a customer outside a bank in Modinagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh told ABP news channel.
\nThe government has said that only tax dodgers will lose out from the move, the latest in a series of anti-corruption measures introduced by Modi.
\nAnalysts largely welcomed the decision, saying that while consumer spending will likely dip in the short term as the new notes make their way into circulation, in the long run the move will boost GDP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI: Long queues formed outside banks in India on Thursday as they reopened for the first time since the government\u2019s shock decision to withdraw the two largest denomination notes from circulation. Some banks in the capital New Delhi had received the new 2,000 rupee ($30) bill and a number of ATMs were working again, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n