Diplomatic Corps approaches MEA on demonetisation

Ministry of External Affairs has received several requests from diplomatic corps on the issue of demonetisation which it has referred to the Department of Economic Affairs, the ministry's spokesperson said today.
Basically the ministry has received three or four types of requests including those related to maintaining sufficient flow of funds to diplomatic missions following scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes, MEA spokeman Vikas Swarup said.
Some have wanted to know if they could collect consular and visa fees in old notes. If so collected, they have sought to know how will those be exchanged, he said.

"The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps has had a meeting with us and has brought these to our attention," Swarup said.
"The second set of issues are --NRIs having cash, having Indian currency abroad...If somebody has money abroad, and is not travelling to India immediately, what happens? How does he get new notes for those old notes?
"The third set of issues is by the money changer associations abroad. This is quite interesting because we don't have full convertibility...So, they have asked us the same question that what they would do with the stacks they have. How do they convert those?," the Spokesperson said.

Swarup said all queries have been referred to the DEA, which has formed an inter-ministerial committee headed by an Additional Secretary.
"A senior Joint Secretary from the MEA is also a member of that committee and we await their guidance, their advice and their recommendation which can then be shared with those various categories who have approached us," Swarup said.
The MEA spokesperson also cited the cases of foreign visitors, particularly those coming for medical tourism, who are approaching the ministry with a request for higher financial thresholds for money they could keep.