SBI Says ATM Cash Availability Has Improved In Last 24 Hours

SBI or State Bank of India on Wednesday said availability of cash in its network of ATMs has improved in the past 24 hours. The latest statement from India's largest bank SBI came in the backdrop of reports of cash crunch in certain parts of the country. The Reserve Bank of India and the government had the previous day assured the public that there is no currency shortage. "Unusually large cash withdrawals" have lead ATMs in some places to run out of cash, the central bank said in a statement on Tuesday.The Government of India with the Reserve Bank of India have taken steps to meet this unusual demand, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on the same day.

"Availability of cash in SBI ATM has improved in the last 24 hours. Efforts are being made on a continuous basis to improve the cash availability further in a few geographies. Overall issue of less cash should come to normalcy within soonest possible time. We are constantly monitoring the situation and making immense efforts to ensure the supply of currency in abundance at all our ATMs," Neeraj Vyas, DMD (chief operating officer) of SBI, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Previously, SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar had said, "We are reviewing the situation constantly. And there is a huge team sitting in the State Bank of India (SBI), which monitors the situation and wherever the corrective action is required, we are taking that action."

"In certain states, we have surplus currency, which we are also moving from one currency chest to another," he had said.

Seeking to assure the public, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday that he has reviewed the situation and the government would fix the problem quickly. "Overall there is more than adequate currency in circulation and also available with the banks. The temporary shortage caused by 'sudden and unusual increase' (in demand) in some areas is being tackled quickly," Mr Jaitley said in a tweet.

"It has been reported in a section of the media that there is shortage of currency in certain parts of the country. It is clarified at the outset that there is sufficient cash in the RBI vaults and currency chests," the RBI said. The central bank also said that printing of the notes has been ramped up in all the four note presses.

The RBI also clarified that the "shortage may be felt in some pockets largely due to logistical issues of replenishing ATMs frequently and the recalibration of ATMs being still underway." Further, "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.