Sources have stated that the Diaspora comprising Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) has currently sought extension of the deadline to exchange or deposit the banned notes till December 31 and Thomas Abraham a NRI from Dubai has said that "The deadline should be extended by six months till December 31 as all those having the banned notes will not come to India just to exchange or deposit them by June".
The government had on December 31 has extended the deadline to June 30 for the diaspora to deposit or exchange the specified bank notes (old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000) after the November 8 demonetization. Meanwhile the resident Indians traveling or living abroad temporarily have been given three months (up to March 31) to declare the banned notes they are carrying at airports on arrival before submitting them in designated Reserve Bank of India (RBI) offices across the country.
Abraham has said "Though many of us may not hold huge amounts of the banned notes as we transact in local currency and the Indian rupee is not fully convertible, we should be given enough time to exchange them since most of us come to India once or twice in a year".
Meanwhile another NRI from Oman has said the government should allow the diaspora to deposit the banned notes at Indian embassies or high commissions and credit them in their bank accounts in case the deadline is not extendable after June 30. Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday has thanked the diaspora for supporting the note ban, many NRIs and IPOs have said unlike their resident Indians they were not impacted by it as they don’t transact in rupee, which is not fully convertible.
