Rabindranath Tagore, APJ Abdul Kalam to replace Gandhi on banknotes? RBI issues official statement
PremiumRabindranath Tagore and APJ Abdul Kalam have been mentioned in the media as possible replacements for Mahatma Gandhi on banknotes.
There have been media speculations that Rabindranath Tagore, and APJ Abdul Kalam may soon replace Mahatma Gandhi on banknotes.The finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were rumoured to be considering placing the watermark figures of Tagore and Kalam on a new series of banknotes of various denominations. Now, the RBI has issued an official statement to debunk the speculations. As per the RBI, there is “no such proposal" to replace Mahatma Gandhi’s face with anybody else’s.
“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 has notified.
Various news outlets cited government sources to suggest that the design of the three watermark samples had received official approval, despite the fact that no final decision had been made. It was also claimed that plans were being made to investigate the possibility of adding numerous figure watermarks on bank notes.
Using various pictures on banknotes is common for US dollars. Some of the Founding Fathers of the United States, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Alexander Hamilton, and a few 19th century presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, can be found on different denominations of US dollars.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) report. As per a Mint poll of economists, the RBI is likely to raise the repo rate by a steep 50 basis points and increase the cash reserve ratio (CRR). The central bank also increased the CRR by 50 basis points to 4% during its May meeting.
“Given the central bank’s desire to signal that inflation management remains key for its policy objectives, we believe RBI will stay the course and deliver a 50 bps hike in the repo rate in June, taking it to 4.90%. We expect the decision to be unanimous, and also see the bank raising its inflation forecasts and downgrading its growth projections for FY22-23," said Rahul Bajoria, chief economist, Barclays Bank.