RBI inspectors plan surprise visits to keep things in check

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India’s ( RBI) inspectors will fan around the country to bank branches to keep a watch on the people who are exchanging the now demonetised currency notes and to also ensure that bankers are not being used by unscrupulous elements, sources familiar with the move told ET.

Supervising the transformation from the old currency regime to the new one becomes essential, as the government doesn’t want any hiccups in the process, as it is directly monitored at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) level this being the pet project of Narendra Modi.

“The RBI wants to keep an eye on bank branches so they can’t alter their cash registers,” a banker in the know said requesting anonymity. “We are anticipating sudden visits by RBI officers to our branches during this entire exercise which could be on for weeks.”

RBI did not respond to a mail seeking confirmation on this.

In order to monitor the day-to-day position of liquidity of the bank, all banks are required to maintain cash showing the daily position of such assets. The RBI believes that tinkering with that or alterations could possibly be made to these registers in cahoots with some bank officers.

In the biggest-ever crackdown on black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes will no longer be legal tender.

While this may be an administrative nightmare for banks to deal with, it is also expected to weed out counterfeit notes from the system.

Bankers are now on the vigil to ensure that no alteration can happen at branch levels to their cash registers. “We have been asked to submit a tally of all Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in our currency chests to the Reserve Bank of India,” another banker said.