Indian PM Aks for Time in Cash Crisis Solution

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has urged Indians to give him more time to resolve a cash crisis that followed the withdrawal of high-value notes, insisting the shock move would benefit the poor in the long run.

His comments came as the government said it was increasing a weekly cash withdrawal limit and taking steps to help people in remote areas access money.

There have been huge queues outside banks and ATMs since they reopened last Thursday, two days after Modi announced that 500 and 1,000-rupee notes, worth around £6 and £12, would no longer be legal tender in a bid to tackle corruption and tax evasion.

Indians rely heavily on cash for daily transactions and those living in rural areas or who do not have bank accounts have been hit particularly hard.

Modi said he had been “pained” by the hardships people were facing, but insisted the move would ultimately benefit poor Indians.

“I am aware you are facing difficulties with 500 and 1,000-rupee notes ban. I understand the inconvenience,” he said at a political rally in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state.

via The Guardian

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza