Banks were shut to customers on Wednesday, but officials raced against time to meet the challenge - once they reopen on Thursday- of exchanging Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
Bihar has over 6,700 bank branches, over 4,300 of them of public and private sector banks like SBI, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank. The rest are regional rural and cooperative banks. The state has around 6,600 ATMs and over 4 crore ATM-cum-debit cards.
The RBI has told banks to lessen the inconvenience to the throngs of people to exchange/deposit their notes. "Banks have been told to hire retired employees if there is shortage of manpower," RBI regional director for Bihar and Jharkhand, M.K. Verma, told The Telegraph. "Everything is on track. Arrangements to facilitate exchange of notes in rural areas have also been made."
The RBI has asked banks to remain open on Saturday and Sunday to cater to the rush.
Verma said people could exchange their Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for smaller denomination notes or new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. They can also deposit the old notes into their accounts in banks and/or post offices.
RBI assistant general manager Pravin Kumar said people could contact the helpline at 0612-2320640 or email helpdeskissuepat@ rbi.org for more information. Facilities to exchange the money will be available till December 30. A person failing to do so can still exchange the old notes at RBI facilities till March 31 after submitting an explanation why it was not done on time.
A person can exchange Rs 4,000 a dayin a bank. They will have to carry identification like PAN card, voter ID, Aadhaar card, ration card, driving licence, passport, or identity card issued by central and state governments in original to avail of the facility.
There is no limit on depositing money into accounts.
ATMs will open only from Friday. They are being recalibrated to dispense only valid currency notes. The withdrawal per debit card will be limited to Rs 2,000 per day till November 18 and enhanced to Rs 4,000 per card per day from November 19.
The RBI has asked banks to ensure that all cash withdrawals at their ATMs are free of cost for customers till December 30.
SBI, which has the largest banking network with around 1,000 branches and 2,050 ATMs in the state, is working overtime to brace for the flood of customers.
"We are ready. Branch managers have been asked to monitor the situation closely and deal with any hiccups. The state home department has been asked to make policing arrangements at the branches. The Union government has also directed all director-generals of police to ensure security at the banks," SBI Officers Association (Bihar and Jharkhand) president and assistant general manager Uma Shankar Singh said.
Uma added that the rush will prevail for a couple of days and things will ease out once ATM operations start smoothly.
