India extends deadline for old notes at gas stations

Old Indian Rupee 500 notes will still be accepted at petrol pumps and LPG stations until December 15, said Minister of State, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, on Twitter and as reported by The Indian Express. However, old INR 1000 notes will no longer be accepted.

This comes after the Indian government's earlier announcement declaring that old INR 500 and 100 notes will be accepted at petrol pumps until November 24 midnight only.

Aside from gas stations, toll plazas on national highways will also accept defunct INR 500 notes from December 2 midnight to December 15.

The demonetisation campaign by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to curb corruption and the unscrupulous use of high value notes in the black market. However, it has been met by criticisms as the government directive resulted to long queues outside banks and ATMs and brought chaos across villages and towns.