Polymer/Plastic currency notes in India

Should India go for new banknotes ?


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Daredevil

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RBI to introduce 100 cr Rs 10 plastic notes

Agencies Posted online: Tuesday , Sep 08, 2009 at 1835 hrs
New Delhi : Soiled notes may soon be a thing of past with the Reserve Bank planning to introduce Rs 10 polymer banknotes whose life span would be 4 times the normal currency notes and would be difficult to imitate.
The apex bank has initially decided to introduce 100 crore pieces of Rs 10 polymer notes, for which it has floated a global tender, a senior central bank official said.

Explaining the rationale for introduction of polymer notes, the official said, these notes would have an average life span of 5 years compared to one year for the currency notes.

Besides, the official said, these notes are cleaner than paper notes and it would be difficult to counterfeit the currency.

The polymer notes were first introduced in Australia to safeguard against counterfeiting of currency.

Besides Australia, other countries which have introduced plastic notes include New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Bermuda, Brunei and Vietnam.
 

Arjak

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I think plastic notes already run in bangladesh.....cant wait to get hand on this new chicks!
 

Singh

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India's dirty banknotes. Should India go for new banknotes ?

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. India’s grubby banknotes | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times – FT.com

India's trillion dollar economy is thriving on hard cash transactions – but something nasty is lurking among the banknotes.
Drug-resistant strains of E. coli and 10 other bacteria can be found on almost all notes in the country, according to a study conducted in Mumbai by Manipal University.
Of every 100 rupees spent in India, 97 are spent in cash, according to Visa, the payments processing firm. That makes India the world's second largest consumer of currency, second only to China. But 98 per cent of Indian currency is contaminated, according to the study.
Every single note sampled in the study and 96 per cent of the coins carried at least one kind of bacteria. The strains found can cause severe gastric and respiratory diseases, according to the researchers.
India's humid climate and the national habit of keeping notes at home in insalubrious places such as underneath shoes contribute to the problem. Crumpled, dirty and soiled notes are commonplace, spreading germs across the country and across the social classes – turning banknotes into a public health hazard, the report warns.
India had 56,549m banknotes in circulation in March 2010, mostly low-denomination notes, according to the RBI, the central bank. Notes of lower denominations (Rs10 and Rs20) carry the most pathogens.
The RBI has been trying to implement a clean note policy since 2002 with limited success. The bank recently asked commercial banks to pitch in by stopping re-circulation of damp, mutilated cash and screening notes dispensed in ATMs for cleanliness.
The bank has also run tests with cleaner, polymer-based notes to replace the paper-based Rs10 note.
"If the pilot proves successful, we will mainstream the use of plastic currency," Governor D Subbarao had said at a conference this year.
The problems of pathogens on currency is not restricted to India. But given the low rate of adoption of electronic payment systems in the country, it demands an urgent solution.

India’s grubby banknotes | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times – FT.com
 

Param

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High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. India's grubby banknotes | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times – FT.com

India's trillion dollar economy is thriving on hard cash transactions – but something nasty is lurking among the banknotes.
Drug-resistant strains of E. coli and 10 other bacteria can be found on almost all notes in the country, according to a study conducted in Mumbai by Manipal University.
Of every 100 rupees spent in India, 97 are spent in cash, according to Visa, the payments processing firm. That makes India the world's second largest consumer of currency, second only to China. But 98 per cent of Indian currency is contaminated, according to the study.
Every single note sampled in the study and 96 per cent of the coins carried at least one kind of bacteria. The strains found can cause severe gastric and respiratory diseases, according to the researchers.
India's humid climate and the national habit of keeping notes at home in insalubrious places such as underneath shoes contribute to the problem. Crumpled, dirty and soiled notes are commonplace, spreading germs across the country and across the social classes – turning banknotes into a public health hazard, the report warns.
India had 56,549m banknotes in circulation in March 2010, mostly low-denomination notes, according to the RBI, the central bank. Notes of lower denominations (Rs10 and Rs20) carry the most pathogens.
The RBI has been trying to implement a clean note policy since 2002 with limited success. The bank recently asked commercial banks to pitch in by stopping re-circulation of damp, mutilated cash and screening notes dispensed in ATMs for cleanliness.
The bank has also run tests with cleaner, polymer-based notes to replace the paper-based Rs10 note.
"If the pilot proves successful, we will mainstream the use of plastic currency," Governor D Subbarao had said at a conference this year.
The problems of pathogens on currency is not restricted to India. But given the low rate of adoption of electronic payment systems in the country, it demands an urgent solution.

India's grubby banknotes | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times – FT.com
They should start by conducting studies at public toilets.God knows what unknown lifeforms are lurking there.:lol:
 

Bangalorean

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Change the notes if you wish, but more urgent than that is to demonetize the 1000 rupee note, i.e. create a new kind of currency for the 1000 rupee note, so that it becomes impossible to use the old ones. People who have hordes of it stashed under their floors and in their pillows will have to go and exchange it for the new notes (along with PAN card details etc.). Else, they'll have to burn their money (and suffer heart attacks in the process).
 

W.G.Ewald

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Off topic a bit but funny remark

I have to add this quote from Billy Wilder:

"France is a place where the money falls apart in your hands but you can't tear the toilet paper."
 

p2prada

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Ah! The ole scare people into believing all diseases in India come from bank notes so people move to plastic cards trick. Banks will be happy with this article.
 

Yusuf

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Change the notes if you wish, but more urgent than that is to demonetize the 1000 rupee note, i.e. create a new kind of currency for the 1000 rupee note, so that it becomes impossible to use the old ones. People who have hordes of it stashed under their floors and in their pillows will have to go and exchange it for the new notes (along with PAN card details etc.). Else, they'll have to burn their money (and suffer heart attacks in the process).
What about those who genuinely hold money? Its not a possible solution mate. You can only phase out, but not say this note is not acceptable.
 

Daredevil

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We need to move to plastic currency which is difficult to counterfeit by our friendly neighbors or any one else. Also the plastic currency is more durable than paper currency.

We can emulate Australian Plastic Currency and below are various advantages both in security and durability.



These banknotes are made from the polymer biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) which greatly enhances durability of the banknotes. Polymer banknotes also incorporate many security features not available to paper banknotes, making counterfeiting much more difficult.

Because the polymer bank note contains many security features that cannot be successfully reproduced by photocopying or scanning, it is very difficult to counterfeit. The complexities of counterfeiting polymer banknotes are proposed to act as a deterrent to counterfeiters.

BOPP is a non-fibrous and non-porous polymer. Compared to paper banknotes, banknotes made using BOPP are more durable, harder to tear, more resistant to folding, more resistant to soil, waterproof (and washing machine proof), easier to machine process, and are shreddable and recyclable at the end of their useful lives.
Polymer banknote - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

Yusuf

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India is already working on polymer bank notes i think.
 

Bangalorean

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What about those who genuinely hold money? Its not a possible solution mate. You can only phase out, but not say this note is not acceptable.
Those who genuinely hold money will have to exchange it. Any bank, but with PAN card, signature, small form, etc.

Black money will either be caught or rendered useless. It has been done before in other places... notably Afghanistan. The warlords had more money than the entire government, in 2001. The IMF and US introduced a new currency, and the population's old notes were collected and burnt in the outskirts of Kabul.

It can work here too.
 

SPIEZ

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What about those who genuinely hold money? Its not a possible solution mate. You can only phase out, but not say this note is not acceptable.
Sir, u forgot
will have to go and exchange it for the new notes (along with PAN card details etc.)
I think this a very good option.
Also Rs.10, can be replaced by coins. Read somewhere that lower value currency notes are causing Loss to the Indian revenue.( will post that article as soon as I find it).
 

trackwhack

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Ah! The ole scare people into believing all diseases in India come from bank notes so people move to plastic cards trick. Banks will be happy with this article.
I couldnt have said it better myself.
 

Yusuf

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Sir, u forgot


I think this a very good option.
Also Rs.10, can be replaced by coins. Read somewhere that lower value currency notes are causing Loss to the Indian revenue.( will post that article as soon as I find it).
First thing, its a huge exercise to change bank notes like that. The rush will be maddening. Second is, as soon as the govt even thinks about it, no one will accept it as a legal tender and that will cause a lot of problems. It happened in the case of the 1,2,5 rupee notes when people stopped accepting it right away and other alternatives were not available in aplenty in the market.
 

SPIEZ

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First thing, its a huge exercise to change bank notes like that. The rush will be maddening. Second is, as soon as the govt even thinks about it, no one will accept it as a legal tender and that will cause a lot of problems. It happened in the case of the 1,2,5 rupee notes when people stopped accepting it right away and other alternatives were not available in aplenty in the market.
Understood sir.

BTW in today's situation, which common man has stored 1000 rupees note with him. All have either deposited money in the banks or invested as GOLD and LAND.

In most cases (like me) we end up paying back to the bank!!!
 
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Pintu

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India is already working on polymer bank notes i think.
Yes here I quote Times of India, link and report:

RBI to introduce 100 crore Rs 10 plastic notes - The Times of India

RBI to introduce 100 crore Rs 10 plastic notes

PTI | Sep 8, 2009, 08.04PM IST
NEW DELHI: Soiled notes may soon be a thing of past with the Reserve Bank planning to introduce Rs 10 polymer banknotes whose life span would be 4 times the normal currency notes and would be difficult to imitate.

The apex bank has initially decided to introduce 100 crore pieces of Rs 10 polymer notes, for which it has floated a global tender, a senior central bank official said.

Explaining the rationale for introduction of polymer notes, the official said, these notes would have an average life span of 5 years compared to one year for the currency notes.

Besides, the official said, these notes are cleaner than paper notes and it would be difficult to counterfeit the currency.

The polymer notes were first introduced in Australia to safeguard against counterfeiting of currency.

Besides Australia, other countries which have introduced plastic notes include New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Bermuda, Brunei and Vietnam.
Regards
 

Daredevil

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Yes here I quote Times of India, link and report:

RBI to introduce 100 crore Rs 10 plastic notes

PTI | Sep 8, 2009, 08.04PM IST
Regards
I will believe it when I see it. That was a 2 yrs old report and we are yet to see Rs 10 plastic notes.
 

Pintu

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Images of the Polymer bank notes country wise:

(All the images courtesy : Wikipedia)

Brazil:




Mexico:




Bangladesh:



Thailand:



Romania:



Nigeria:



Regards
 

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