4 Biggest Changes Effective March, 2021 You Should Know: No Free FASTags, SBI KYC, Rs 2000 Notes & More

February has come to an end, witnessing multiple changes recorded in gas prices, especially LPG prices. Due to a sharp rise in the prices of crude oil across the global market, the fuel prices in India have spurred up too.

As the new month starts, there are certain changes in banking, vaccination and the auto sector, which must be attended to lead a smooth month.

Vax Drive For Priority Groups

The vaccination drive for Covid-19 started pan-India on January 16, 2021, about 2 weeks after the drug regulator gave green light to the emergency use of the two Indian vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin.

Up until now, the vaccine was being administered to healthcare and frontline workers only.

Starting March 1, India will witness the second phase of vaccination against Covid-19. This will include people above the ages of 60 and between 45 to 59, with comorbidities.

This group of people can register themselves for priority vaccines. People above 60 (senior citizens) will require any photo identity card for validation, while those between 45-50 years of age with comorbidities, will require medical certificates.

One dose of vaccine will cost Rs 250 in private hospitals.

Banking

Rs 2000 Denomination

After the bank merger of Allahabad Bank and Indian Bank in 2020, Indian Bank has announced that its ATMs will not dispense Rs 2000 notes, starting March 1.

Bank customers who need the denomination can collect it from the bank’s branch, shall they need it. 

Speaking of Allahabad Bank, the ATMs of the bank will dispense Rs 2000 notes. Any changes in further news related to this shall be updated on Trak.in.

IFSC Code

In a tweet posted by the Bank of Baroda on February 4, the IFSC codes of e-Vijaya and e-Dena will be discontinued from March 1. 

It is easy to obtain the new IFSC codes for the former banks.

• Refer to the (earlier) letter sent to you during the system integration.
• Visit BoB’s website, or scan the QR code.
• Call the bank’s amalgamation helpdesk at 1800 258 1700, or visit your nearest branch.
• Send an SMS to 8422009988 from the registered number in the format “MIGR<space> last 4 digits of the old account number”.

FASTags No Longer Free

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had implemented all lanes of fee plazas on National Highways as ‘FASTag lanes’ in the country, since February 16.

The National Highway Authority of India waived the electronic payment charges of Rs 100 at toll plazas via FASTags at 770 toll plazas on National and State highways across the country until March 1, to encourage more commuters to shift to FASTag.

This move led to a daily toll collection of Rs 95 crores with almost 60 lakh transactions on February 17, just one day after compulsory implementation of FASTags.

The usage of FASTag reached almost 90% within two days of the NHAI mandating electronic toll payment.

The ministry announced a 100% shift towards collection of toll charges on national highways through FASTag, with a fee charged twice or thrice the nominal price, if the rider chooses to pay via cash.