NEW DELHI: With public anger rising across the country over limited cash availability, the government tonight eased key restrictions including raising daily withdrawal limit from bank counters and ATM as well as hiking the amount of old and now defunct currency notes that can be exchanged.

To augment cash supplies, newly printed hard-to-fake Rs 500 notes were also released in market.

After a review by Finance ministry, the limit of old and now defunct Rs 500 and Rs 1000 rupee notes that can be exchanged for freshly minted Rs 2000 and new Rs 500 notes was increased from Rs 4000 to Rs 4500 per day. Cash withdrawal limit at ATMs was hiked to Rs 2,500 from Rs 2,000 a day. The weekly limit of Rs 20,000 for withdrawal from bank counters has been increased to Rs 24,000. The maximum limit of Rs 10,000 per day on such withdrawals has been removed, the ministry said in a statement. “Banks have been advised to increase the issuance and use of mobile wallets and debit/credit cards as also to provide them to those customers and establishments not having access to these non-cash means of payment,” it said. Also, the last date for submission of the annual life certificate for the government pensioners which is to be submitted in November every year has been extended up to January 15, 2017. –PTI