Withdraw RBI circular barring KSCB frm collecting demonetised

The Kerala government today wrote a letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley demanding the withdrawal of RBI circular barring Kerala State Co-operative Bank (KSCB) from collecting demonetised currencies.
The letter written by Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac and Co-operation minister Kadakampally Surendran stated that Rs 848.65 crore, which was collected after complying KYC procedures, remained frozen. It said difficulty was being faced in crediting the amount to customers (mostly farmers, villagers and tribals).
"At this crucial juncture, if they do not get liquid funds for their agriculture and animal husbandry needs apart from other general requirements, they would lose on their season also, which would inflict a body blow to economically disadvantaged categories," the letter said.

The state Finance Minister had earlier said here that the Kerala government was considering to shift the accounts of state PSUs, including that of Kerala State Beverages Corporation, to district cooperative banks, with an aim to resolve the crisis faced by the cooperative sector in view of the Centre's demonetisation move.
"Many public sector undertakings, including beverages are getting fresh currencies. In my opinion, it is better to deposit the amount in cooperative banks. A final decision in this regard will be taken after discussing with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan," he had told reporters.