Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

India ATM reset to take weeks, says Jaitley

INDIA’S cash machines will take several weeks to reset with new bills, India’s finance minister said today (November 12), as public anger mounted over a decision to pull the highest denomination notes from circulation.

People queued outside banks for the third day straight, trying to replace 500 ($7.50) and 1,000 rupee notes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced they would no longer be legal tender in a blitz against corruption and tax evasion.


Scores of India’s ATMs were shut yesterday (November 11) and the ones that worked quickly ran dry as hundreds of thousands thronged to them.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said cash machines could only dispense the newly-designed 500 rupee and 2,000 notes after several weeks because of a technical issue.

“The technology takes about two-three weeks to recalibrate. The central switch needs to be changed and each machine needs to be altered individually, about 200,000 machines,” Jaitley told reporters in New Delhi.

“And because the size of the new notes is different, the machines are being recalibrated slowly.”

Jaitley reassured panicked citizens the central bank had sufficient supplies of money and that it was doing all it could to dispense the notes.

Long snaking lines and chaotic crowds at banks angered some who questioned why the government did not resolve the problem earlier.

“This is ridiculous. This is my second day. I gave up yesterday after standing in line for three hours. Couldn’t they have prepared ahead of time?,” JK Chauhan, an insurance executive, said standing outside a New Delhi bank.

But Jaitley said ATMs could not have been altered ahead of time as it would have given “the whole game away”.

Customers can exchange their old bills for new notes or deposit them in their accounts until December 30, but face major scrutiny by tax authorities if they cannot account for a sudden swell in their balance.

The government has said only tax dodgers will lose out from the bill-switch, the latest anti-corruption measure introduced by Modi.

Analysts broadly welcomed the decision, saying consumer spending would likely dip in the short term as the new notes made their way into circulation but that the move would boost GDP in the long term.

(AFP)

More For You

JLR Tata

A logo is pictured outside a Jaguar Land Rover new car show room in Tonbridge, south east England.

JLR Q1 sales dip as US tariffs hit exports

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a 10.7 per cent drop in sales for the April–June quarter, as a temporary pause in shipments to the United States and the phase-out of Jaguar’s legacy models weighed on volumes.

The company, owned by India’s Tata Motors, sold 87,286 units to dealers worldwide during the quarter, compared to 97,755 units in the same period last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less