The Union Finance Ministry on Monday announced that farmers will be allowed to use old high denomination notes of Rs 500 to buy seeds from government-run outlets. The government said ID proofs will be required for such purchases. Earlier, the Centre had relaxed the norms for farmers by allowing them to withdraw up to Rs 25,000 a week against crop loans.

Besides, the Reserve Bank of India said small traders can withdraw up to Rs 50,000 in cash every week from their current, overdraft and cash-credit accounts as long as they have been active for at least three months. However, the enhanced limit is not applicable for personal overdraft account holders. The Central bank added that money disbursed may be predominantly in Rs 2,000 notes. Meanwhile, the RBI said the public has withdrawn about Rs 1.03 trillion from bank accounts from November 10 to 18, reported PTI.

However, all of these new steps failed to impress West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the scheme. She, instead, asked the Centre to come up with a proper plan of action instead of announcing changes on a daily basis. “[The] Centre has rolled back about 15 decisions since [the demonetisation] announcement on November 8. This means they are confused,” said the Trinamool Congress chief, who is planning to stage protests in Delhi on Tuesday. The West Bengal chief minister also accused the Centre of helping people with black money with this move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.