ATM
The recent State Bank strike brought home to its depositors
the advantages and disadvantages of ATMs – short for Automatic Teller Machines.
Initially they were able to withdraw money in spite of the strike, however as
the strike continued, the machines started running out of the cash and “No Cash”
boards could be seen outside the ATMs. Some security guards had to face the
wrath of irate customers for no fault of theirs.
ATMs have become very popular and are able to handle many of
the transactions that a Bank’s branch handles. It is common to find a line of
ATMs belonging to different banks close to each other. Bank customers are happy
a lot when it comes to cash withdrawal and balance enquiries. Instead of
standing in queues at a branch counter during fixed banking hours, they have the
liberty to do these transactions very quickly at their own convenience. Moreover
many of these ATMs dispense crisp new notes. Some of them also offer the option
of a mini account statement. Cash withdrawal in emergencies during the night is
also possible.
Banks too have found the ATM to be an attractive proposition.
News reports have indicated that the number of ATMs stands close to 23,000. The
Reserve Bank has a long queue of applications for new ATMs. The RBI is reported
to have applied the breaks to this rush for setting up offsite ATMs. It is
worried that they are getting clustered in the cities. Rural areas do not seem
to be popular with the Banks. The apex Bank wants the commercial banks to share
their ATMs in urban areas. It is also worried on another count as these machines
have put pressure on the demand for new currency notes. The RBI has therefore
tightened the norms for setting up an ATM.
April
The month of April means different things to different
people. Most will agree on one thing though that it is the hottest month. A
well-known English author E. M. Forster had devoted a full chapter in his book
"A Passage to India" to describing this month.
The original Roman name was Aprilis, with the Old English
version being the same. Somewhere down the line the ‘is’ was dropped and it
became “APRIL”. It is supposed to be the month of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess
of love and beauty.
She is identified with the Roman goddess Venus.In India it
signifies the beginning of the fiscal year and it almost coincides with the
beginning of the Hindu calendar year and its first month of “Chaitra”.
