India making move to polymer
 

By Kerry Rodgers

World Coin News
25.10.10

The Reserve Bank of India has announced that it will be replacing its current generation of rag-paper rupee notes with polymer, bringing to an end the era of partially torn, mutilated currency that has bedeviled the country. Anyone who has ever lived and worked in a tropical clime will know all too well that paper currency is not compatible with elevated humidities.

The first notes to be released will be the Rs 10 possibly by the year’s end. These will be followed in turn by the Rs 20 and Rs 50 denominations. In 2009 a pilot launch was planned of the Rs 10 denomination on a trial basis in five cities. This never occurred and the authorities look set to go nationwide this year with 1 billion Rs 10 being printed.

Apart from their durability and enhanced cleanliness, the RBI has been promoting the security features that can be incorporated in modern plastic issues and that help frustrate counterfeiters. Earlier this year the RBI had reported fake notes as accounting for eight per one million notes in circulation during 2008-09.

The Aug. 10 media release also included a proposal to replace the Rs 5 note with a coin. Problems have arisen in a number of countries where low denomination notes have been replaced by metal coins that lack substantial security measures. The coins have such low metal value that forging them on a large scale returns a handsome profit. As a result, Britain now has an enormous problem with its pound coin. In 2005 South Africa has had to withdraw and re-mint its five rand. All of which suggests problems might lie in store for India.

Although India could have imported the new plastic currency from specialist printers such as in Australia or Mexico, the Reverse Bank of India has taken the step of producing these internally.

There has been talk of incorporating the new rupee symbol on the new notes that resulted from a nationwide competition. As of July no firm decision had been taken with the RBI still in discussions with the government on this matter. Nonetheless it appears highly likely.