ATM cash crunch: PMO takes stock; Madhya Pradesh hit for 3rd day; updates

A cash crunch at ATMs has hit a dozen states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, poll-bound Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Punjab. While the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister said his state, too, was facing a cash crunch, with the crisis expected to pass shortly, bank authorities in Jammu & Kashmir and the government in Maharashtra said their respective states were not facing an ATM cash crunch. With automated teller machines (ATMs) drying up, the central government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stepped in to address the currency shortage.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley attributed the cash shortage to an unusual spurt in demand during the past three months and described it as "temporary", adding that the ATM cash crunch was being "tackled quickly" and that there was "more than adequate" currency in circulation. To fix the ATM cash crunch, the government said that the printing of Rs 500 denomination notes, about 5 billion of which are printed per day, would be increased by five times. Notes worth Rs 700-750 billion (Rs 70,000-75,000 crore) would be printed in a month.

However, what caused the cash crunch and ATMs running dry in the first place? The suspected hoarding of Rs 2,000 notes was cited as one reason by the government. The RBI, for its part, said that logistics and recalibration issues were limiting cash replenishment at ATMs. Further, Finance Minister Jaitley said that the "temporary shortage" was caused by a "sudden and unusual increase (in demand)" in some areas and that it was being "tackled quickly". With the RBI and banks blaming cash management companies for ATMs running dry, ATM industry representatives said that it was the banks that were unable to meet the demand for cash. They said banks had not been able to meet their indent, the daily calculation of cash required, for the past four-five days.

Long queues again? ATMs go dry as many states face cash crunch: Top updates

A cash crunch has been reported in several states of India -- Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana. People are facing a huge monetary crisis, with a majority of automated teller machines (ATMs) running out of cash. In Bihar's Patna several ATMs have gone 'out of service' causing inconvenience to the locals.
Taking stock of the situation, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: "We have reviewed the currency situation in the country; there is more than adequate currency circulation and it is available with the banks... a temporary shortage caused by the sudden and unusual increase in some areas is being tackled.

Here are the top developments in the crisis caused by a sudden shortage of cash across several states and what the government is saying:
1. Life gets miserable for many Indians, especially traders: Despite the currency flow in the economy going back to the pre-demonetisation level, ATMs are going dry making life miserable for many residents, especially traders. Many are running from one ATM to another in search of currency notes.