New Delhi: In an embarrassment to the government on account of demonetisation, Russia has lodged a strong protest over cash shortage affecting the functioning of its embassy in Delhi and threatening retaliatory action, adding that the money permitted to be withdrawn “will not be enough (even) to pay for a decent dinner in a restaurant, not to mention functioning of such a big embassy.”
Russian ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin has written to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to get the restrictions on cash withdrawals by Russian diplomats lifted, saying the embassy’s normal functioning was getting affected with the “inadequate” withdrawal limit of Rs 50,000 per week.
The State Bank of India has informed us that the cash withdrawal limit is now Rs 50,000 per week under the Government of India directives, with no exceptions unless otherwise advised by the RBI, his letter said. “Such an amount is totally inadequate as regards the embassy’s salary and operational expenditure requirements,” the letter was quoted by news agencies as stating.
“Please just imagine if we in Moscow mirror this order of SBI (State Bank of India) when 50,000 roubles will not be enough to pay for a decent dinner in a restaurant, not to mention functioning of such a big embassy as ours in New Delhi or India's in Moscow,” the Russian envoy was quoted in other media reports as stating in the letter.
“We are awaiting a reply from the MEA and hope that this will be resolved quickly. Otherwise, we will be forced to explore other options which may include raising the issue in Moscow with your Embassy by summoning Indian Minister Counsellor,” a senior Russian embassy official said here.
According to news agency reports, other retaliatory options before the Russians may include restriction on cash withdrawals for Indian diplomats posted in Russia, the official indicated.
There are approximately 200 staffers in Russian diplomatic mission in the national capital. There was no immediate reaction from the Indian side on the Russia complaint.
It is also understood that some other countries like Ukraine and Kazakhstan have also raised the issue with the external affairs ministry.
The government’s demonetisation move had put foreign diplomats and tourists in New Delhi, foreigners coming to India for medical treatment, and NRIs as well as money changer associations abroad in a spot following which the department of economic affairs (DEA) of the finance ministry had formed an inter-ministerial committee to examine the difficulties faced by these categories and recommend measures to the MEA. The committee was constituted after the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in New Delhi had complained to the MEA about the problems being faced by foreign diplomats.
MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had earlier said, “Basically we have received three or four types of different requests on the issue of demonetisation which pertain to the MEA. The first concerns the diplomats who are based in Delhi. Some of them have told us that diplomatic missions require bigger funds and the existing limits will not be sufficient for them, and if those can be increased for diplomatic missions. Some of them have said that they collect consular and visa fees. If they are collected in old notes how will they be deposited and how will they be exchanged. So, that is the first set of issues that has been brought to our notice by the resident diplomats. The Dean of the Diplomatic Corps has had a meeting with us and has brought these to our attention.”
“The second set of issues are what you just raised - NRIs having cash, having Indian currency abroad. As you know there are specified limits as to the amount of Indian currency that can be taken abroad. But within those limits 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 changes associations abroad. This is quite interesting because we don’t have full convertibility. But it shows the strength of the Indian rupee, that we have money changers association abroad which are ready to dispense Indian rupees. So they have asked us the same question that what they would do with the stacks they have. How do they convert those?” the MEA pointed out.
The MEA had added, “And, finally you have the cases of foreign visitors, tourists particularly those coming for medical tourism asking us that we have specific requirements, and we need to have certain higher thresholds. So what we have done is we have referred all these matters to Deptt of Economic Affairs. 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.”
