RBI to bring in plastic notes on a trial basis
Central bank of india Reserve Bank of India plans to bring in plastic notes on a trial basis, according to the Deputy Governor of RBI K.C. Chakrabarty.
He replied to a query about plastic notes, on the sidelines of a ‘Town Hall Meet’ that was organized in Mangalore, Karnataka by the Banking Ombudsman that plastic notes of Rs 10 denomination will be brought on a trial basis in selected cities.
This step is taken to enhance the life of notes along with combating counterfeit currency.
Prior to this, replying to a query by a bank customer on torn and soiled notes, the Deputy Governor of RBI K.C. Chakrabarty affirmed that the average life of a currency note is less than nine months.
When another bank customer pointed out that there are many bank officials who scribble on the currency notes though they are not suppose to, the Deputy Governor of RBI K.C. Chakrabarty said that the bank employees are a part of that society that “we live in”. It is the duty of the society to stop writing on currency notes and stay away from this.
There are many who said that the customers are put to discomfort when the bank officials find fake notes while paying at different counters despite the fact that the amount has been withdrawn from various ATMs. In such a condition there should be a mechanism for the customers to check out the authenticity of the money withdrawn from different ATMs. The Deputy Governor of RBI K.C. Chakrabarty said that the Reserve Bank of India has already declared various points related to checking the authenticity of currency notes. The prime methods of checking the authenticity of fake currency notes are already known to the public.
According to reports on an average, one out of just five paper currency notes in circulation (over twenty percent) gets disposed each year after getting soiled. The figure of soiled currency bills recorded at over thirteen billion units all through the fiscal ended March 31st, 2012 as per the latest data that is available with the Reserve Bank of India.
As per the Reserve Bank of India data, the total worth of all currency notes that is in circulation stood at Rs 10.5 lakh crore at the closing stages of financial year 2011-2012. On the other hand, soiled notes worth at a projected sum of Rupees 2.05 lakh crore had to be left out of from the circulation by Reserve Bank of India during that fiscal year.
Due to longer shelf life Reserve Bank of India plans to bring in plastic notes on a trial basis. Though plastic notes are pioneered by Australia they are used in a number of countries across the world that includes Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea Brunei, and Romania, while the United Kingdom is also said to be toying with the idea.
In India, Reserve Bank of India is planning to bring in one billion pieces Rs 10 currency notes in plastic or polymer on a trial basis in Jaipur, Mysore, Kochi, Shimla and Bhubaneswar. But, a timeline is yet to be decided by India’s central banking institution – Reserve Bank of India.Author Bio: – BE Bureau, an entity of Business Economics features latest finance news, economic news, stock news, health news, technology news and many more.
