Demonetisation: Cash crunch to normalise by February, says Arundhati Bhattacharya, SBI chairperson

NEW DELHI: Acknowledging the difficulties faced by the cash-strapped people across the country, SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya today said that the ongoing cash crunch will normalise by the end of Februray. "With the demoentisation announcement, over 80 percent of the currency in circulation was taken back into the banking system. It's important to get it replaced to make people feel comfortable," Bhattacharya said. "People are given more notes of Rs 2000 denomination and they are facing problems in getting change for spending small amounts. Higher denomination currency is good as a store of value but not for the purpose of spending. Now the focus is on printing more Rs 500 notes which will ease the situation and by the end of February, the cash crunch will normalise," the SBI chief told ABP News She said the Rs 2500 cap on withdrawal from ATM should be increased. "Because the focus is now on printing of Rs 500 notes, the situation will ease within next few weeks. I also believe that the daily limit of Rs 2500 on ATM withdrawal should be increased as lower denomination currency notes are given to people," she said.