There was a news-item on 27.04.2019 about Reserve Bank of India RBI soon issuing new currency-notes in denomination of rupees twenty. Surprisingly the new note is openly being sold at huge premium at cost of rupees seventy in Kachcha Bazar market of new currency in Chandni Chowk (Delhi) right from the date of news-item.
An enquiry from RBI New Delhi office revealed that the said new-designed note never reached at RBI New Delhi office, and was issued only from main RBI office at Mumbai. Otherwise whenever new-designed notes are issued simultaneously in different cities by RBI, usual premium is about 10-percent of the face-value of new note.
Charging premium on new currency should be a punishable offence, and a raid should be conducted throughout pavements at Chandni Chowk (Delhi) and adjoining streets on shops and vendors openly selling new currency at premium. It is significant that any number of packs or even bundles can be freely obtained from these dealers of new currency at premium. There must be similar points in other metro-cities as well where new currency is openly sold at premium.
RBI should issue new currency in adequately simultaneously from all its offices throughout the country and currency-chests of all banks to effectively check selling new currency on premium just for craze of people to see new-designed notes at earliest opportunity.
Present series of new-designed smaller-sized notes of different denominations should have been issued in each denomination simultaneously on one single date (except in denominations of rupees 2000 and 500 which had to be issued earlier to meet emergency-requirements following demonetisation of old currency of rupees 1000 and 500 on 08.11.2016) with a special collector-pack of notes of each denomination of new series also issued on same date.
SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL