KEM Hospital opens exclusive counter for currency exchange in Mumbai

On Tuesday, one counter opened under Punjab National Bank and another under the India Post in the hospital compound, which were accepting the invalid currency and exchanging it at no additional cost. By evening, 409 staffers and patients had exchanged the old currency at KEM hospital. The Punjab National Bank exchanged Rs 5 lakh and the postal department gave out new notes amounting to Rs 10 lakh.

Across Maharashtra, the finance ministry has allowed government hospitals and private chemists to accept the old currency until November 18.

For private hospitals, a circular has been issued to accept cheques from patients. Mumbai’s government hospitals receive over 60 per cent patient load from outside Mumbai, most have no card to make online payments. The BMC-run hospitals receive 30,000-40,000 patients in its out-patient department and over 2,000 admission every day.