Demonetization: Fin Min looking into issue of NRIs having old notes, says MEA

As NRIs grapple to find ways to exchange old Rs 500 and 1000 notes, External Affairs Ministry on Thursday said the Finance Ministry is looking into suggestions made by an inter-ministerial panel in this regard.

Admitting that the FAQs put up by RBI do not offer the required clarity to the NRIs having old notes, whose legal tender status has been cancelled, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Thursday said an inter-ministerial task force was set up by the Department of Economic Affairs to address these issues. The task force has come out with a set of recommendations that are being reviewed by the Finance Ministry and MEA was awaiting a decision on the same, he added.

After the demonetization last month, Swarup had said the MEA has approached DEA after it received three or four types of requests including those related to maintaining sufficient flow of funds to diplomatic missions following the demonetization. The matter was raised by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps during his meeting with the MEA officials.

Swarup had 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 had said.