The Centre has approved the Reserve Bank of India’s proposal to introduce polymer banknotes in the ₹10 and ₹20 denominations for field trials, but clarified there is no plan to replace existing paper currency with plastic notes, the government told Parliament on Monday.
Event Context
Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the RBI, acting on a recommendation from its Central Board, had proposed printing one billion pieces each of ₹10 and ₹20 polymer banknotes for field trials, to be followed by regular issuance once the trials are completed successfully. The government has cleared this proposal, he said.
The minister’s statement follows weeks of preparatory groundwork by the RBI’s currency-printing arm.
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Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL), the RBI’s currency-printing subsidiary, had on July 17 floated a Global Expression of Interest inviting manufacturers worldwide to supply opacified polymer substrate sheets embedded with security features for printing Indian banknotes, according to a report by news agency ANI.
The EOI sought an indicative quantity of 68,000 reams of BOPP (Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene)-based polymer substrate — 34,000 reams each for two denominations — with each ream comprising 500 sheets, ANI reported. The substrate is required to carry security features including a clear window with portrait, metallic numeral, magnetic pseudo thread, shadow image and iridescent pattern, suitable for printing at BRBNMPL and SPMCIL presses.
The EOI also carried strict national-security conditions, according to the agency. Bidders must ensure their operations in China or Pakistan are firewalled from any India-linked business; must not source raw material from either country; and must not employ personnel who have worked in China or Pakistan in any capacity. Entities from countries sharing a land border with India are required to be registered with the DPIIT’s Registration Committee to be eligible.
The BRBNMPL had said the immediate tender was only a preliminary requirement, with a larger procurement across multiple denominations likely if field trials prove successful, as per the ANI report. Bidders are required to have at least three years’ experience supplying polymer substrate with security features to a central bank or banknote-printing organisation, and to offer a minimum of 20,400 reams to qualify.
