The "No change" annoyance!

good idea!
also, if you have a large note, better to be upfront & tell them so that the last minute hassle after completing the purchase can be avoided. if they agree to it, they would take the responsibility to send someone to get the change, otherwise they would refuse, but you have saved yourself a useless transaction...

Do banks charge for such exchange?

they CANNOT as per RBI, which is why most would be reluctant to provide this service... most of the time they would like to know if you are a customer of the bank, then of that specific branch, etc. unless you take the RBI circular printout with you and ask to speak to the branch manager to make a complaint...

We just need to travel the smart way... even if that means getting our wallets, coin purses fat and hard to carry around. Better to carry loose bills/coins around. I always travel with lots of 10's 20's in my pocket to prevent the hassle of waiting for my change to be returned.

Yeah. They often genuinely don't have change. If you're insistent, they'll always find some (usually by going to another shop), but this entails a lot of standing around. I'm not sure I'd call it a 'scam'. I hoard my 10 and 20 notes and am aware of places that do always have change (although this is less realistic for someone who is moving around a lot) and *always* pay with 500 or 1000 rupee notes when I buy something there. In my neighborhood it's the liquor store, a couple of cafes, a provisions shop and a paan/cigarette place.

The only time it seems like a scam to me is with auto wallah's. It's good practice, after negotiating a price, to ask before you get in whether they have change. When you do this, they always seem to have enough (within reason... not for 1000 notes). Likely something to do with them knowing they'll lose their fare if they don't.

My five cents.

A weird variation of Gresham's Law. I always wondered if I could pay the autovallas in toffee "change"..

True. I had a taxi driver try to add a waiting charge so I told him that I was adding my own waiting charge because he could not make change. How quickly he got out of the car and found some change.

I travel to Kolkata twice a year, and this December I noticed a distinct difference. Everyone had change. My pockets rapidly filled up with coins and small bills.

I assume it has to do with the Reserve Bank increasing the supply of small change. It might be regional and/or temporary, and then again it might not. Have other recent travelers noticed any recent difference?

I found the fellow who sells Vodaphone minutes to be very helpful with change ... he always had a couple of hundred rupees' worth of small bills for me!

I have an amusing story to relate about the no change situation in mysore palace. We went for a sound and light show on one of the days, and bought two tickets.

there was an english lady in front of us, who was trying to pay with a Rs 100 note, and the ticket booking guy was telling her he had no change. She stood to the side of the counter, hoping that someone would give enough change, and she could get her ticket and change back.

I paid with all Rs 10 notes, about 12 of them, for two tickets.

Right after I got my tickets, the english lady tried to get her tickets, and then the salesman, witha straight face, told her he had no change. she started arguing with the guy, saying I just gave so many Rs 10 notes, that it would be enough to get a ticket for herself.

In the end, I changed her Rs 100 note, and then she was able to buy her ticket tendering exact change.

Asking for change from an auto rickshaw driver is like asking for their blood...Even for Indians

Not in Bombay. They all give change - if the fare is Rs.19 & you give Rs.20, you are almost guaranteed to get a rupee back. But yeah, in every other city in India, you can forget about it.

This happened a lot with me within my year there as a student. Either they genuinly didnt have change or they where trying to get you to give in and just say "Oh ok keep the change." Me not being very trusting would always presume the second one. So...
Just Say oh thats ok, ask someone else if they have change too I dont mind waiting. If they don't speak English then say: Koi baat nahi, kisi aur se puchane. (Spelling may be wrong). Stand your ground. Make it clear that you are happy to wait ( Even though you may be in a rush DONT let them know that otherwise they too will play a waiting game on your patience to see how long it will take for your to give in.)
Most the time ( especially rickshaw drivers and shops (even big shops in malls) will admit defeat and pull out the change they do actually have. Often they are just reluctant to give their change away because they know it comes in useful rather than a sum of 500 rupees.
Other times they either dont want to admit they were lying OR they genuinly dont have change so they will reluctantly ask around ( autos/rickshaw/taxis will drive around) until they find someone willing to give them change. Dont give them the note until they have change in their hand though. Otherwise they are in control as they have your money and they can just put it in their pocket and say there is nothing they can do.

Particularly if one only has 100s or 500 --- ask before getting in if they have change!