CHENNAI: A week after RBI started phasing out Rs 2,000 denomination notes by allowing it to get exchanged in bank counters, there has been a steady increase in notes being transacted in petrol bunks and jewellery shops.
The maximum limit on exchange of 10 notes of Rs 2,000 denomination in the bank by an individual has resulted in people looking at these avenues to dispose of the Rs 2,000 denomination notes. TNIE found there has been no serpentine queues in the bank or mad rush to exchange Rs 2,000 denomination notes, as was seen during the demonetisation period.
Madras Jewellers and Diamond Association Secretary S Shanta Kumar told TNIE there has been a sudden spurt in gold sales since the RBI announcement. “We have seen the gold sales go up by 10 to 15%. We are accepting the Rs 2,000 notes and they are later deposited in the bank,” said Shanta Kumar, adding investment in gold is a safe bet as of now.
Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association president KP Murali told TNIE petrol bunks are getting more Rs 2,000 denomination notes in a day. “Initially, we were getting 10 to 15 notes a day, and now this has increased to around 100. More notes are surfacing in the petrol bunks,” he said.
Meanwhile, traders in Koyambedu wholesale market are wary of trading in Rs 2,000 denomination notes. During demonetisation, many traders exchanged the junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. However, the traders later faced the heat, with banks and I-T officials posing queries on how they could deposit such a huge chunk of these junked currencies.
Interestingly, many bank branches in and around Koyambedu are seeing a rise in `2,000 denomination currency deposits. “There has been an increase in Rs 2,000 note deposits,” an HDFC bank official said. A senior official from Axis Bank in Vepery said around 10 to 15 people on an average visit the branch to exchange the currency by providing one of their identity proofs, and their mobile numbers.
“The crowd is manageable. Most of the Rs 2,000 currency is being deposited in the account,” she said.
Meanwhile, a private bank official, on condition of anonymity, said most
of the Rs 2,000 denomination notes are yet to be offloaded. “We are
getting queries from individuals to help them in the exchange,” he said.
Such pleas are being discouraged and the bank is under surveillance.
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