India Rupees: Chaos at Banks after Demonetisation

Millions of Indians are waiting in long queues to exchange bank notes which are being withdrawn from circulation.

Under a demonetisation plan, two commonly used notes - Rs1,000- and Rs500 - will no longer be in circulation and have to be exchanged by the end of the year.

The surprise government announcement, which came two days ago, is aimed at tackling corruption and tax evasion.

Al Jazeera's Victoria Gatenby explains.

India's Rupee Sinks to a Record Low

Rupee, one of Asia's worst-performing currencies this year, plunges 3.6 percent to 68.75 against US dollar.

Plunging Rupee Wipes $5.6bn Off Fortune of India's Richest Man

THE GUARDIAN: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani hit by growing sense of panic in emerging markets

India's richest man is down to his last $17.5bn (£11.2bn), after the plunging value of the rupee wiped out a quarter of his fortune, in dollar terms.

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, which operates the world's largest oil refineries, has lost $5.6bn of his personal wealth since 1 May, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index.

His fortune took a further hit on Thursday, as India's currency hit fresh lows, adding to the sense of panic in emerging markets. Developing economies, excluding China, have seen an outflow of $81bn in emergency reserves since early May, as central banks try to prop up their currencies.

Indonesia has lost 13.6% of its reserves, Turkey 12.7%, Ukraine 10%, according to central bank data compiled by Morgan Stanley. » | Jennifer Rankin | Thursday, August 22, 2013