The Reserve Bank of India clarified on Monday that there is no proposal with the central bank on making changes with any existing currency and bank notes. The clarification comes a day after some media reports claimed that the RBI and the central government is considering making changes to the note by replacing the face of Mahatma Gandhi with that of other leaders such as APJ Abdul Kalam and Rabindranath Tagore.
“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,” the RBI said in a clarification Monday.
According to a New Indian Express report, citing unnamed sources, the RBI and the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India (SPMCIL), under the Ministry of Finance, are considering to use watermarks of writer and Nobel Prize awardee Rabindranath Tagore, and India’s former President APJ Abdul Kalam on some bank notes. The report further claimed that designing of samples had ‘official sanction’ however, no firm decision has been taken on it yet.
The watermark image of the ‘Father of the Nation’ Mahatma Gandhi is printed on all bank notes. This practice was commemorated for the first time back in 1969 initially on the Rs 1, Rs 2 and Rs 5 notes. The design series in honour of the birth centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi was issued in the 1960s which depicted a seated Gandhi with the Sevagram Ashram as the backdrop.
