RBI-Centre relationship strained over note ban?

December 22, 2016

Mumbai/ New Delhi: The central bank and the government often don't see eye to eye even in the best of times, which these certainly are not. The stress of managing the process of demonetisation has brought to the fore some lapses in communication between the Reserve Bank of India and the government. The lack of coordination between the two has come in the way of smoother implementation of several measures.

The most recent instance is handling of the notification that put conditions on deposit of old notes worth over Rs 5,000 after December 20. Though the finance ministry took the decision, sources in the government said that the RBI notification was "badly drafted", particularly the section that made it mandatory to explain the reasons for delaying deposit of scrapped notes. The notification was amended on Wednesday removing limits on deposits.

Sources in RBI feel that the central bank's image is being tarnished by frequent changes in circulars, most of which are issued on directions from the government.

A section within the government feels that RBI has been slow in reacting to cues. For example, it took the central bank three days to frame the rules that allowed families that had a wedding during November and December to withdraw Rs 2.5 lakh in new currency. When RBI did come out with the rules, they were so stringent that it was almost impossible to withdraw the money. The government had to step in and RBI eased one condition.

Another bone of contention has been the amount of old notes which have come back. The government has also contested the figure released by RBI on amount of old currency that is deposited with banks. Last week economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das asked RBI and banks to check the figures for any possible double counting.

Sources in the central bank say RBI is torn between the people who are resentful of how the institution is being treated and people who are happily complying with the finance ministry orders.

RBI sources also believe that it is unfair to make the bank, and the banking system in general, responsible for tax compliance by depositors. Not only that it is not the central bank's sole job, checking for tax compliance at every banking transaction disrupts the smooth functioning.

Yet another issue of discord was the waiver of charges on card transactions+ till December 30. RBI is believed to have been of the view that complete waiver will act as a disincentive for banks, but the decision was implemented.

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PM Modi, King Abdullah II share 8-point vision to deepen India-Jordan ties

News Network

December 16,2025

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman, during which the two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, with the Prime Minister outlining an eight-point vision covering key areas of cooperation.

Describing the meeting as “productive”, PM Modi said he shared a roadmap focused on trade and economy, fertilisers and agriculture, information technology, healthcare, infrastructure, critical and strategic minerals, civil nuclear cooperation, and people-to-people ties.

In a post on social media platform X, the Prime Minister praised King Abdullah II’s personal commitment to advancing India–Jordan relations, particularly as both countries mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year.

“Held productive discussions with His Majesty King Abdullah II in Amman. His personal commitment towards vibrant India-Jordan relations is noteworthy. This year, we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our bilateral diplomatic relations,” PM Modi said.

The meeting took place at the Al Husseiniya Palace, where the two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), both sides agreed to further deepen cooperation in areas including trade and investment, defence and security, counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation, fertilisers and agriculture, infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, and heritage.

The MEA said both leaders reaffirmed their united stand against terrorism.

PM Modi arrived in Amman earlier on Monday and was received by Jordanian Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, who accorded him a formal welcome. Following the talks, King Abdullah II hosted a banquet dinner in honour of the Prime Minister, reflecting the warmth of bilateral ties.

Jordan is the first leg of PM Modi’s three-nation tour. From Amman, the Prime Minister will travel to Ethiopia at the invitation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, marking his first official visit to the African nation. The tour will conclude with a visit to Oman.

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IndiGo CEO says less than 1,000 cancellations on Dec 6; normalcy by Dec 15

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December 5,2025

New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said.

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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