Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India banks reopen to long queues after rupee withdrawal

Long queues formed outside banks in India on Thursday (November 10) as they reopened for the first time since the government’s shock decision to withdraw the two largest denomination notes from circulation.

Some banks in the capital New Delhi had received the new Rs 2,000 (£24) bill and a number of ATMs were working again, two days after prime minister Narendra Modi announced the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes would no longer be legal tender in a blitz against tax evasion and corruption.


Modi’s 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.

“I have only come here to check if I can change my old notes for a new currency even if I don’t have an account with the bank,” RP Singh, a newspaper vendor, said outside a bank in New Delhi.

“The 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,” he added.

The government said customers would be able to exchange their old bills for new notes or deposit them in their accounts from Thursday.

However, it was unclear how many banks across the country – particularly in rural areas – had received the new Rs 2,000. Newly designed Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bills will be rolled out at a later date.

“The 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,” India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley said.

Meanwhile, the IMF said on Thursday it supports India’s efforts to fight corruption through the currency control measures announced this week, but stressed taking care to minimise disruptions in the economy.

“We support the measures to fight corruption and illicit financial flows in India,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters.

“Of course given the large role of cash in everyday transactions in India’s economy, the currency transition will have to be managed prudently to minimize possible disruptions.”

Long queues formed outside banks across the country, with some people complaining that banks and post offices, where old notes can also be exchanged, hadn’t opened on time.

“We don’t know what they are doing, why they haven’t yet opened the bank? We have already been waiting for over two hours just to exchange our currency notes,” a customer outside a bank in Modinagar in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh told an Indian news channel.

The 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.

Analysts 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.

More For You

F-35B jet

The UK has agreed to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport.

Indian Air Force

F-35B jet still stranded in Kerala, UK sends engineers for repair

UK AVIATION engineers are arriving in Thiruvananthapuram to carry out repairs on an F-35B Lightning jet belonging to the Royal Navy, which has remained grounded after an emergency landing 12 days ago.

The jet is part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the UK's Royal Navy. It made the emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14. The aircraft, valued at over USD 110 million, is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahmedabad air crash
Relatives carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in the Air India Flight 171 crash, during a funeral ceremony in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ahmedabad crash: Grief, denial and trauma haunt families

TWO weeks after the crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, families of victims are grappling with grief and trauma. Psychiatrists are now working closely with many who continue to oscillate between denial and despair.

The crash occurred on June 12, when the London-bound flight hit the BJ Medical College complex shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and 29 on the ground. Only one passenger survived.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

Prime minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at The British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference in London on June 26, 2025. (Photo by EDDIE MULHOLLAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

PRIME MINISTER Sir Keir Starmer has admitted he was wrong to warn that Britain could become an "island of strangers" due to high immigration, saying he "deeply" regrets the controversial phrase.

Speaking to The Observer, Sir Keir said he would not have used those words if he had known they would be seen as echoing the language of Enoch Powell's notorious 1968 "rivers of blood" speech.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less