PODCAST | Here's why ATMs in the country are running dry

Nearly 36 months after the nation was gripped by shortage of cash in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sudden ‘demonetisation’ announcement, parts of the country are witnessing shortage of currency in ATM machines, again.

For the last few weeks, South Indians states including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have reportedly seen ATMs go dry. They are now joined by Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, as people in these states are said to be returning home empty-handed from ATMs.

Responding to reports of ATMs running dry, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that there is more than adequate currency in circulation and with the banks after acknowledging that there have been reports of cash crunch in many states.

The FM stated that the ministry has reviewed the currency situation and the shortage is caused due to ‘sudden and unusual increase’ in some areas, which is being tackled quickly.