Cash woes: Government sets up panel to look into concerns of tourists, NRIs
Article from Times of India newspaper reproduced fully.
TNN | Updated: Nov 18, 2016, 03.02 AM IST
Highlights
- Government has formed a panel to look into concerns of foreign tourists over demonetisation
NEW DELHI: The government has formed an inter-ministerial committee to look into concerns expressed by NRIs, tourists from abroad and foreign missions over demonetisation, the ministry of external affairs said on Thursday.
While foreign missions had sought MEA’s intervention to facilitate smooth collection of consular and visa fee and to allow them access to more funds, NRIs, money exchange associations, and foreign tourists abroad too have expressed concern about the difficulties being faced by them.
“The department of economic affairs has now formed an inter-ministerial committee headed at the level of an additional secretary. A senior joint secretary from the ministry of external affairs 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,” said MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup.
“Some (foreign missions here) 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,” said Swarup.
The second set of issues, he said, was related to NRIs having cash, or those holding 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?”
Top Comment
Yes Government is too slow. Giving heart attack to NRI. Still time to clarify stand as holidays are approaching.
dayaram
“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 added.
According to the ministry, foreign visitors and tourists, particularly those coming for medical tourism, had asked MEA about some very specific requirements which needed to be looked into.
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