It costs the government nearly one rupee to print a currency note of Rs 10 denomination. And, Rs 1.79 to make a Rs 100 currency note.
This information was given by the Reserve Bank of India to Delhi-based RTI activist Subhash Agrawal.
The RBI has given the cost of printing different denominations from Rs 5 to Rs 1,000. Interestingly, printing a Rs 50 note seems a shade costlier than a Rs 100 note.
In response to the RTI query on the average life of currency notes, the RBI said, “No study has been done so far in this regard. However, conventional wisdom indicates that smaller denomination notes have a lower average life than banknotes of higher denomination (100, 500, 1,000).”
To another query, the RBI said that the size of the currency note had not changed since 1967.
The central bank also said that to enhance the life of the banknotes and reduce the cost of production and disposal, especially of smaller denomination notes, the bank was conducting trials on plastic and polymer-based notes.
The RBI said that field trials with about 1 billion pieces of such plastic/polymer based notes were being conducted at five places — Mysore, Kochi, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar — chosen for their varied geographical location and climatic conditions.
The decision to introduce these notes would depend on the outcome of the field trials, the RBI said.
Keywords: Print, currency note, RTI activist, Subhash Agrawal, different denominations
Comments:
The officials of RBI have bungled big time especially when they ran their printing presses at breakneck speed to print 500/1000 notes which now has caused havoc on inflation and devalued bank deposits.In addition to cranking up note printing, these dubious officials have ensured continuous shortage on small coins and small denomination notes like 10/20/50/100.They are the biggest aides of the crooks who hoard black money, possibly even helping counterfeit money from abroad.it is time RBI needs scrutiny especially at the top managerial positions many of whom need to be summarily sacked and even possibly jailed for their dubious acts.
Please Email the Editor