The chief of India&#39;s central bank, Urjit Patel, received support from the most unlikely quarter while he was being grilled by an opposition party leader Digvijay Singh during a meeting with the parliamentary committee about demonetisation on Wednesday.

When asked by Digvijay Singh, a member of the Congress party, as to whether there would be chaos when the withdrawal limit is removed, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who is also a Congress member, told Patel that he need not answer that question.

The government yesterday (January&nbsp;17) raised the withdrawal limit from Rs 4,500 per day to Rs 10,000 per day, although the weekly limit remains Rs 24,000.

It was an unexpected show of support because Singh is not only a member of the same party as Digivijay Singh is, the renowned economist has in the past flayed the government&#39;s decision to scrap old banknotes as he believes the move will pare down India&#39;s economy by two percentage points.

During the Wednesday meeting, Patel, who is the governor of Reserve Bank of India, was chastised for not satisfactorily replying to questions regarding demonetisation, nearly three weeks after the deadline for people to exchange their old currency notes with new ones elapsed.

Saugata Roy, a member of the panel and a lawmaker affiliated to Trinamool Congress, said Patel was &quot;unable to tell us how much money (old currency) has come back to the banks&quot;.

One of the members of the standing committee of finance, wishing anonymity, confirmed to WION that when asked as to when the details would be available, the RBI officials replied that they were calculating at the moment and could not give a timeline to the committee.

The federal government had given the public time till December 30 to replace their old currency notes with new ones.

As of December 14, various media reports stated that the banks in India had received 80 per cent of the old bank notes amounting to Rs 12.44 lakh crores (roughly $184 billion).

But Patel did inform the quantum of amount infused into the economy. He said Rs 9.2 lakh crore (approximately $135 billion) worth of new currency notes has been injected back into the economy so far.

The Standing Committee of Finance, headed by Veerapa Moily, grilled the finance ministry officials and Patel for nearly two hours. Overall, the meeting lasted for four&nbsp;hours but Patel joined the briefing session in the second half.

When one of the members questioned Patel on the emphasis been given by the prime minister and finance minister on turning India into a cash-less economy, Patel replied: &quot;The demand will be met with supply and it is the prerogative of the Reserve Bank of India.&rdquo;

Government officials also informed the committee that demonetisation was a well thought-out decision and preparations were on since January 2016.

India&#39;s central bank had earlier given a seven-page reply that it received advisory instructions from the government to consider the government&#39;s plan to replace the hitherto currency notes.&nbsp;But several questions were raised when it came to light that the RBI had received the advisory on November 7, barely 24 hours before the government rolled out the nationwide scheme.

India&#39;s central bank came under a deluge of criticism as many felt that the institution&#39;s autonomy had been undermined. The theme of RBI&#39;s autonomy dominated the Wednesday meeting as well, with Patel fielding a raft of questions about the issue, another member of the panel told WION.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, WION has learnt that Patel will be summoned again either during the Budget Session (February 1) or just after it as a&nbsp;lot of questions remained pending due to paucity of time.&nbsp;

But problems&nbsp;don&#39;t end for Patel there as he is expected to depose before the Public Accounts Committee on January 20, where opposition parties are expected to ask him uncomfortable questions about how the decision on demonetisation was reached upon. The very debate on demonetisation and the RBI&#39;s autonomy has become extremely political as regional elections in five states of India are merely 20 days away.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from ANI)

&nbsp;

The former premier told Urjit Patel that he need not answer the question when asked if there would be chaos once withdrawal limit is lifted

The chief of India's central bank, Urjit Patel, received support from the most unlikely quarter while he was being grilled by an opposition party leader Digvijay Singh during a meeting with the parliamentary committee about demonetisation on Wednesday. When asked by Digvijay Singh, a member of the Congress party, as to whether there would be chaos when the withdrawal limit is removed, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who is also a Congress member, told Patel that he need not answer that question. The government yesterday (January 17) raised the withdrawal limit from Rs 4,500 per day to Rs 10,000 per day, although the weekly limit remains Rs 24,000. It was an unexpected show of support because Singh is not only a member of the same party as Digivijay Singh is, the renowned economist has in the past flayed the government's decision to scrap old banknotes as he believes the move will pare down India's economy by two percentage points. During the Wednesday meeting, Patel, who is the governor of Reserve Bank of India, was chastised for not satisfactorily replying to questions regarding demonetisation, nearly three weeks after the deadline for people to exchange their old currency notes with new ones elapsed. Saugata Roy, a member of the panel and a lawmaker affiliated to Trinamool Congress, said Patel was "unable to tell us how much money (old currency) has come back to the banks". One of the members of the standing committee of finance, wishing anonymity, confirmed to WION that when asked as to when the details would be available, the RBI officials replied that they were calculating at the moment and could not give a timeline to the committee. The federal government had given the public time till December 30 to replace their old currency notes with new ones. As of December 14, various media reports stated that the banks in India had received 80 per cent of the old bank notes amounting to Rs 12.44 lakh crores (roughly $184 billion). But Patel did inform the quantum of amount infused into the economy. He said Rs 9.2 lakh crore (approximately $135 billion) worth of new currency notes has been injected back into the economy so far. The Standing Committee of Finance, headed by Veerapa Moily, grilled the finance ministry officials and Patel for nearly two hours. Overall, the meeting lasted for four hours but Patel joined the briefing session in the second half. When one of the members questioned Patel on the emphasis been given by the prime minister and finance minister on turning India into a cash-less economy, Patel replied: "The demand will be met with supply and it is the prerogative of the Reserve Bank of India.” Government officials also informed the committee that demonetisation was a well thought-out decision and preparations were on since January 2016. India's central bank had earlier given a seven-page reply that it received advisory instructions from the government to consider the government's plan to replace the hitherto currency notes. But several questions were raised when it came to light that the RBI had received the advisory on November 7, barely 24 hours before the government rolled out the nationwide scheme. India's central bank came under a deluge of criticism as many felt that the institution's autonomy had been undermined. The theme of RBI's autonomy dominated the Wednesday meeting as well, with Patel fielding a raft of questions about the issue, another member of the panel told WION. Meanwhile, WION has learnt that Patel will be summoned again either during the Budget Session (February 1) or just after it as a lot of questions remained pending due to paucity of time. But problems don't end for Patel there as he is expected to depose before the Public Accounts Committee on January 20, where opposition parties are expected to ask him uncomfortable questions about how the decision on demonetisation was reached upon. The very debate on demonetisation and the RBI's autonomy has become extremely political as regional elections in five states of India are merely 20 days away. (WION with inputs from ANI)

Demonetisation: Ex-PM Manmohan Singh comes to central bank chief's help

Breaking his silence over the demonetisation issue, Resrve Bank of India&nbsp;Governor Urjit Patel today said the central bank is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and taking all necessary actions to &quot;ease the genuine pain of citizens&quot; with a clear intent to normalise the things as early as possible.

Patel also said the RBI has announced an incremental CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) of 100 per cent &quot;because of the large increase in deposits of banks on account of the return of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes&quot; and the decision would be reviewed immediately once the government issues adequate quantum of MSS (Market Stablisation Scheme) bonds which they have promised to do.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, Patel said the situation arising out of the decision to withdraw Rs 500/1,000 notes is being monitored on a daily basis and the printing presses have started to rebalance the production of new notes towards Rs 100 and Rs 500 bills.

He also urged the people to start using cash substitutes like debit cards and digital wallets, saying it will make transactions cheaper and easier and in the long term, it will help India &quot;leapfrog into a less cash-use economy at par with more developed nations.&quot;

&quot;We are also urging banks to make a big push with PoS (Point of Sale) machines with traders so that debit card use becomes more prevalent,&quot; he said.

Giving details of the steps being taken by RBI, he said, &quot;Both RBI and government have been getting the printing presses to work at capacity to get the new notes available to meet demand.

&quot;The RBI is interacting with the banks every day. They are telling us that the situation is gradually easing. The queues in branches and ATMs are shorter and the markets are starting to function, and there are no reported shortages of daily items of consumption.

&quot;Also, about 40-50,000 people were deployed to refit the ATMs. Currency is available and banks are working in a mission mode to lift currency and take them to their branches and ATMs. The staff members of all banks have worked very hard, and we all owe them our gratitude,&quot; Patel said.

&quot;Having said that, it is important to regularly review the situation, and taking the required decisions to ease the genuine pain of citizens who are honest and who have been hurt. There are no precedents on this subject at this scale and we have to be reactive to the situation.

&quot;People have asked why the new currency introduced was different in size and thickness from the old. This is because the new currency has been designed to make it hard to counterfeit. When you are going to make a change of this magnitude, you need to get the best standards in place,&quot; Patel said.

This is the first-ever interview as RBI Governor by Patel, who is known to keep a low profile.&nbsp;

(PTI)

Urjit Patel, governor of India's central bank, also urged people to start using cash substitutes like debit cards and digital wallets

Breaking his silence over the demonetisation issue, Resrve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel today said the central bank is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and taking all necessary actions to "ease the genuine pain of citizens" with a clear intent to normalise the things as early as possible. Patel also said the RBI has announced an incremental CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) of 100 per cent "because of the large increase in deposits of banks on account of the return of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes" and the decision would be reviewed immediately once the government issues adequate quantum of MSS (Market Stablisation Scheme) bonds which they have promised to do. In an exclusive interview to PTI, Patel said the situation arising out of the decision to withdraw Rs 500/1,000 notes is being monitored on a daily basis and the printing presses have started to rebalance the production of new notes towards Rs 100 and Rs 500 bills. He also urged the people to start using cash substitutes like debit cards and digital wallets, saying it will make transactions cheaper and easier and in the long term, it will help India "leapfrog into a less cash-use economy at par with more developed nations." "We are also urging banks to make a big push with PoS (Point of Sale) machines with traders so that debit card use becomes more prevalent," he said. Giving details of the steps being taken by RBI, he said, "Both RBI and government have been getting the printing presses to work at capacity to get the new notes available to meet demand. "The RBI is interacting with the banks every day. They are telling us that the situation is gradually easing. The queues in branches and ATMs are shorter and the markets are starting to function, and there are no reported shortages of daily items of consumption. "Also, about 40-50,000 people were deployed to refit the ATMs. Currency is available and banks are working in a mission mode to lift currency and take them to their branches and ATMs. The staff members of all banks have worked very hard, and we all owe them our gratitude," Patel said. "Having said that, it is important to regularly review the situation, and taking the required decisions to ease the genuine pain of citizens who are honest and who have been hurt. There are no precedents on this subject at this scale and we have to be reactive to the situation. "People have asked why the new currency introduced was different in size and thickness from the old. This is because the new currency has been designed to make it hard to counterfeit. When you are going to make a change of this magnitude, you need to get the best standards in place," Patel said. This is the first-ever interview as RBI Governor by Patel, who is known to keep a low profile. (PTI)

Demonetisation: Trying to ease pain of citizens, says RBI chief

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Demonetisation: Ex-PM Manmohan Singh comes to central bank chief's help

Demonetisation: Trying to ease pain of citizens, says RBI chief