The Hindu Business Line : A fifty-fifty chance of a fake note

With the RBI issuing differing Rs 50 notes in recent years, identifying the genuine ones has become difficult. The issue has become complicated as even genuine ones are being printed in relatively thin paper.

COIMBATORE, May 6

YOU never know when you will be caught with currency, especially the Rs 50 denomination in your pocket. No doubt pickpockets roam the streets, buses and trains. If your pocket is picked when you're walking around unawares, you only lose your money, not your honour. But not so if the note you tender is declared `fake' at a bank counter.

The confusion that reins among bankers in identifying the Rs 50 currency as genuine or fake poses a grave threat to the man on the street — of being caught in possession of fake currency.

A business man who remitted his money in fifties in a nationalised bank here a couple of days back was in for a rude shock when the cashier told him that about 35 notes in the bundle were fake. As is the rule, the cashier immediately tore the notes to pieces, much to the dismay of the remitter who had no choice but withdraw silently to save himself from further dishonour.

A senior bank employee had a taste of this bitter experience last week, when the money he tendered for change was identified by the cashier as "fake". Being a bank employee himself, the remitter voiced his protest as the currency was said to have been issued from the bank's treasury chest.

With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing differing Rs 50 notes in recent years, identifying the genuine ones has become difficult to the common man as also the banker. The issue has become complicated as even genuine ones are being printed in relatively thin paper.

The problem of rejection has arisen, as the notes issued with the signature of the former RBI Governor, Dr C. Rangarajan, are comparatively lighter in thickness compared to the ones that have been issued subsequently.

Bankers aver that this confusion in identification of currencies arise due to lack of proper guidelines regarding their verification. While the bankers have been instructed to perform the `ultra violet rays' test to check the genuineness of the Rs 50 denominations issued with the signature of the current RBI Governor, Dr Bimal Jalan, the bankers say the application of the same test on the currencies issued with the signature of previous incumbent resulted in rejection, with the result that these notes, though genuine, are being destroyed by bankers themselves.

"It is high time the RBI intervened and issued instructions, educating the bankers about the efficacy of the notes issued by the apex bank," a senior official said.

Meanwhile, it is reliably learnt that many have lost genuine money in the bargain.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section
Kerala: Liquor sales at new high

Reaching Ooty — an uphill task

Adventure trail in the shadow of nature

Recording rhythm

Tagore continues to straddle Bengal music scene

A fifty-fifty chance of a fake note