Government Promises Adequate Circulation As RBI Blames Logistical Reasons For Dry ATMs Across Country

The government and the Reserve Bank of India said on Tuesday they will ensure there is an adequate amount of cash in circulation, following reports that banks' automated teller machines (ATMs) had run out of notes in different parts of the country.

The RBI said it had ramped up printing of notes despite having sufficient cash in its vaults and currency chests.

"As a matter of abundant precaution, RBI is also taking steps to move currency to areas which are witnessing unusually large cash withdrawals," the central bank said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Cash withdrawals in India go up during the crop harvest season, which is usually during March to April, and then during the festival season in October. But there has been an unusual rise in currency demand in the last three months.

That is a source of worry for policymakers because a sustained heavy currency withdrawal suggests people may be hoarding cash again.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had ordered a shock ban on high-value currency notes in late 2016, in a move aimed at flushing out hoarded cash and curbing the funding of terrorism.

"The total stock of currency has come down but still we have notes worth more than two trillion rupees ($30 billion) in stock which is more than sufficient," said the government's economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg.

Currency withdrawal by individuals during January-March 2018 was at 1.4 trillion rupees, sharply higher than 1.1 trillion rupees in the same quarter of 2016, according to Reserve Bank of India data. The March 2017 quarter data is not comparable as the RBI was in the process of re-injecting currency notes after the so-called demonetisation in November 2016.

14-year-old raped by neighbour in Delhi, family learns of it from internet

Three men were arrested on charges of rape in Delhi’s Rohini suburb when the mother of the teenage victim filed a police complaint after a neighbour alerted her about videos circulating of the incident.

Police said the incident took place two weeks ago in Mangolpur Kalan locality when the main accused, a 32-year-old labourer who is also the girl’s neighbour, allegedly lured her to his home where two of his friends were waiting. He raped the 14-year-old while his friends recorded the act on their mobile phones.

The accused then blackmailed her into silence, threatening they would upload the videos on the internet and circulate them on WhatsApp.

The case came to light after the leaked videos were seen by a neighbour who told the girl’s mother. When the mother asked the girl, she broke down and told her everything. The family then filed a complaint and the girl was medically examined.

The incident in the national capital comes amid days of outrage over the gang-rape and murder of an 8-year-old in Jammu’s Kathua and the rape of a teenager allegedly by a BJP lawmaker in Uttar Pradesh. Several cities across the country have seen rallies and protests by citizens questioning inaction by authorities in these cases.

Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde claims he was target of failed assassination bid

Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde claimed he was the target of a failed assassination bid on Tuesday after a car in his convoy was involved in an accident in Karnataka’s Haveri district. He said there was a “deliberate attempt” on his life and claimed that a truck tried to ram into his car but hit a vehicle which was part of his convoy. One of his support staff suffered a fractured shoulder, he said.

Hegde said the truck driver — identified by him as Nasir — was caught by locals and did not seem to be in an inebriated condition. He tweeted a video of the incident, adding that it showed it was “quite evident” that he was “purposefully” targeted.

“A deliberate attempt on my life seems to have been executed just now. A truck on NH, near Halageri in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district has hit my escort vehicle which tried to hit my vehicle in the first instance. Since our vehicle was in top speed we escaped the hit,” Hegde said, “However our support staff in the escort vehicle has suffered severe injuries in the form of shoulder fracture.”

Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy said he will ask the state police to probe the incident.