Plastic bank note: Is the government preparing to replace the current paper notes? Will plastic notes be issued instead of paper notes? This question has been asked to the government in Parliament. In response to this question, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary said that the government has not taken any decision to issue plastic notes.
During the Rajya Sabha question period, Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai asked the Finance Minister whether the government is considering to replace the paper currency with the notes in circulation in other countries.
He questioned that plastic notes have proved to be very durable in many countries and it is also difficult to make fake currency from plastic notes. In such a situation, will the government even consider issuing plastic currency in their country?
In response to this question, the state finance minister Pankaj Choudharysaid that the government has not taken any decision to issue plastic bank note under section 25 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. He said that the sustainability of Indian currency notes and prevention of counterfeiting is a continuous process.
When Anil Desai asked the Finance Minister a question about the cost of printing paper currency notes and plastic notes, the Minister of State for Finance said that according to the Reserve Bank of India’s 2022-23 report, a total of Rs 4682.80 crore will be spent on printing notes in the financial year 2022-23. He said that no cost was incurred in printing the plastic currency.
According to RBI’s 2015-16 annual report, crores of plastic bank note were planned to be issued. These plastic notes will be issued on trial basis in five cities namely Kochi, Mahisur, Shimla, Jaipur and Bhubaneswar.
The project was undertaken by Reserve Bank of India Note Mudran Private Limited and Security Printing and Maintenance Corporation of India. But the project was put on hold by the RBI due to the risk of plastic notes catching fire at high temperatures.