This Is What RBI Said On Proposal To Use Images Of Rabindranath Tagore, Kalam On Banknotes

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday clarified that it is not considering changes to the existing currency and banknotes by replacing the face of Mahatma Gandhi with that of others.

In a statement, the central bank said there are reports in certain sections of the media that the Reserve Bank of India is considering changes to the existing currency and banknotes by replacing the face of Mahatma Gandhi with that of others.

“It may be noted that there is no such proposal in the Reserve Bank,” it said.

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Earlier, the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are reportedly considering using the watermark figures of Rabrindranath Tagore and APJ Abdul Kalam on a new series of banknotes of some denominations.

Rabindranath Tagore who is remembered as one of Bengal’s greatest icons and India’s 11th President, APJ Abdul Kalam, also known as the Missile Man, were said to be in the race to make it to the country’s banknotes alongside M K Gandhi.

Indian currency

But, why?

If you're wondering why,?the move was suposedly afoot to explore possibilities of including watermarks of multiple figures on currency notes.

Like in the US, different denominations of dollars carry portraits of some of the Founding Fathers such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Alexander Hamilton and a few 19th century presidents, including Abraham Lincoln.

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How much progress has been made?

The RBI and the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India (SPMCIL), which is under the Finance Ministry, had reportedly sent two separate sets of samples of Gandhi, Tagore and Kalam watermarks to IIT-Delhi Emeritus Professor Dilip T Shahani. Sahani had reportedly been told to choose from the two sets and present them for final consideration by the government.

Professor Shahani, who was said to be examining the watermarks, specialises in Electromagnetic Instrumentation. He was conferred with the Padma Shri by the Modi government in January this year.

Sources say, in 2017, one of nine RBI internal committees, which were formed to recommend new security features for a fresh series of banknotes, submitted its report in 2020, proposing that besides Gandhi the watermark figures of Tagore and Kalam should also be developed for inclusion in all currency notes barring the Rs 2,000 note whose printing had already stopped.

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In 2021, the RBI issued instructions to its Mysore-based Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Pvt Ltd and the SPMCIL’s Security Paper Mill at Hoshangabad to design their own sets of the watermark samples.

Subsequently, the RBI and SPMCIL sent their samples to Shahani for him to examine them. Shahani has had several rounds of discussions with officials on the “finer aspects” of the samples.

PIL filed in 2017 in Calcutta HC

Also, in the same year,? in 2017 the Calcutta high court had directed the Centre and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reply within eight weeks why currency notes in the country can’t have photographs of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose or any other important personality. This was after the bench heard a PIL by city resident Prithwish Dasgupta.

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In the PIL, Dasgupta said, "Though Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru have garnered much of the credit for successful culmination of the Indian freedom struggle, the contribution of Netaji is no less." The petitioner submitted several documents in the court to support his claim.

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