Demonetisation: Gulf NRIs worried about money exchange

Indian businessmen in the Gulf region have responded positively to the currency demonetisation measures announced by the government to tackle black money while others saddled with high denomination notes have are worried about exchanging them abroad.
Sudhesh Giriyan, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Xpress Money, called it a bold and commendable move which will regulate black money and undeclared liquid assets.
"He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) has struck a blow for transparency, ethical earning and made a move towards curbing grey finances," Giriyan said.
"We believe that all stakeholders in the current global economic system have a responsibility to stamp out dubious sources of revenue that can be repurposed towards instability and disenfranchisement," he said.

Giriyan said it is understandable that some customers might be temporarily inconvenienced by this decision but supported the move as it dovetails with efforts to set new standards for transparency in the money transfer and remittance industry.
Kamal Vachani, Group Director Al Maya Group and Regional Director for Electronic & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), said that the overall banking will benefit as cash will come in banks; real estate will hit negatively.

Vachani said that there may be little confusion in the market but it will be good for the Indian rupee.
"Rupee can appreciate. Over all short term negative for market, liquidity will rise in system, as people will deposit cash. It should be positive for rates over short term. On a medium to long term positive interest rate would fall. Banks will be flush with money with no incremental borrowers," he said.

Some residents also expressed reservations over the move.
Arshad Hussain, an Indian IT professional in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, said the effectiveness of this policy is likely to be less than 10 per cent of the projected objective by the government.
"NRIs are not able to exchange their 500 and 1,000 notes. Even remittance centers such as Saudi Exchange refused to exchange these notes," he said.
Hussain said that this could be a problem as Indians cannot travel to India just to exchange notes.
"One Indian can carry only Rs 8,000 to India and cannot give it to others to carry. I have had to send notes by post so that someone exchanges it," he said.

Sanjay Prasad, a graphic design professional in Dubai, said this is a good move in the long run but needs streamlining.
Surekha Prasad, a Doha-based homemaker, said that they had
accumulated a lot of cash during trips to India.
"Even our children have cash given as gift by grandparents. Now we really don't know what happens to this money," she said, adding that the conversion value of the currency doesn't yield much so there is no point exchanging in local currency.
Gulf News while welcoming the move said in its editorial the important area for the government to focus on is how expatriates and Indians overseas will avail of the value exchange at Indian banks overseas.

"Clarity of procedure and facilitation of exchange mechanisms must be set into place at the earliest. While the big picture of eliminating black money is important, so is addressing the concerns of Indians at home and abroad," the leading UAE Daily said.
Another daily Khaleej Times in a report gave four options which NRIs can avail to reclaim the value of their money.
The first thing that NRIs can do is to deposit it in NRO accounts. They can also travel to India before December 30 and deposit it in their accounts. If someone is travelling to India next year, he can visit any RBI office and convert the Indian currency into any other with due proof and reasons of delay. And the last option is to auhorise someone to deposit in India.