The government has decided to stop over the counter exchange of demonetised currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 at banks and post offices after midnight of November 24.
However, citizens can still go to banks to deposit their old bills and withdraw cash under the current limits till the end of the year.
The current limit on withdrawal of up to Rs. 24,000 per week per bank account remains unchanged. Over the counter exchange limit of the old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 had been reduced from Rs 4,500 to Rs 2,000 last week.
The government has announced that currency notes of Rs 1,000 are no longer exempted which means that the usage of Rs 1,000 notes has been completely banned from November 24 midnight. The Rs 1,000 currency notes can no longer be used at petrol pumps or in government hospitals.
"It has been observed that over the counter exchange of the old currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 denomination has shown a declining trend...Consequently, there will be no over the counter exchange of old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes after midnight of November 24, 2016," a press release by the government stated.
According to the government, doing away with the exchange of notes will "encourage people who are still unbanked, to open new bank accounts."
The limit to withdraw cash from ATMs per day per card has been set at Rs. 2,500. Around two lakh ATMs across the country need to recalibrated to disperse the new currency notes since they are bigger in size than the old notes.
The deadline for the payment of utilities — only water and electricity — has been extended till December 15.
The government has also decided to allow foreign tourists/citizens to exchange foreign currency up to Rs 5,000 per week, the entry of which will be included in their passports. The deadline for the exchange of notes is December 15.
The deadline for the payment of fees up to Rs 2,000 per student in central, state, municipality and local body schools is December 15. Payments can be done using the old Rs 500 notes. Payment of fees in central and government colleges can also be done using Rs 500 notes.
The prepaid mobile top-up bills up to Rs 500 per top-up can be paid using the old Rs 500 currency notes. the government has also limited purchase from consumer cooperative stores to Rs 5,000 at a time.
Payment of toll tax across all national highways has been exempted till December 2. After the exemption deadline ends, citizens can pay toll tax using old Rs 500 notes till December 15.
Payments for transactions under all exempted categories can now be done only through the old Rs 500 notes.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the limit on digital transactions through e-wallets like Paytm to Rs. 20,000 per month.
