The quantum of deposits made in banks have started slowing down and the government expects another Rs 4 lakh crore or so to be deposited in bank branches in the days to come, said Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar in an interview with BloombergQuint.
According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on November 29, banks have reported exchange and deposits amounting to Rs 8.45 lakh crore between November 10 and November 27. That's more than half of the value of currency notes withdrawn as part of the government's decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
Acknowledging that there will be additional demand for cash, as people look to withdraw their salaries, Gangwar said the RBI has introduced Rs 35,000-40,000 crore worth of new currency notes into banks to deal with this stress.
The government's demonetisation drive has elicited strong reactions across Opposition parties and 10 days into the winter session both Houses of Parliament have failed to transact much business. When asked whether this may result in a delay in the implementation of the the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Gangwar said the current disruption in Parliament will not affect the passage of GST laws in this session.
The government hopes to resolve the differences between the Centre and states over division of tax assessees in the next meeting of the GST Council scheduled on December 2-3, he said. The government remains confident that the new indirect tax regime will be implemented by April 1, 2017, he added.
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