Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 09.03.2017 announced issue of new banknotes of 10-rupees denomination in the Mahatma Gandhi series-2005 with inset letter ‘L’ on both number panels, bearing the signature of Governor Urjit Patel.
But the then Union Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena in UPA regime in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on 12.03.2013 had stated that Union Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had decided to issue polymer/plastic currency-notes of rupee-ten denomination on trial basis. Even present central government in a post-demonetisation decision declared to issue plastic currency.
Non-implementation of the decision even after four-years, puts a question-mark on currency-production both by RBI and central government with so many public-sector undertakings now working differently under central government and RBI solely for purpose of currency-production. Both Department of Economic Affairs and RBI are avoiding some queries of RTI petition dated 05.12.2016 about further wasteful printing of one-rupee notes which were surprisingly re-started on 06.03.2015 after a gap of two decades.
Complete series of plastic-currency in denominations of rupees 20, 50 and 100 should be issued with reduced sizes on permanent basis rather than experimenting, as plastic-currency has already been successfully in circulation in seventeen countries with Australia being the first one to experiment long back in the year 1988 and then completely switching over to plastic currency in the year 1996. Further printing of notes in denominations of rupee one and ten can be stopped with size and weight of 10-rupee coins reduced for easy pocketing.
SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL