Basics of Indian currency

For a common person, money simply means currency and coins. This is so because in India, the payment system, which includes credit cards and electronic cash, still revolves mainly around currency and coins, especially for retail transactions.

Currency Basics

Coins - Coins in India are presently being issued in denominations of one rupee, two rupees, five rupees and ten rupees. Coins in the denomination of 1 Paise, 2 Paise, 3 Paise, 5 Paise, 10 Paise, 20 Paise and 25 Paise have been withdrawn from circulation with effect from June 30, 2011 and are, therefore, no more legal tender.

Currency - Banknotes in India are currently being issued in the denomination of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs 2000. These notes are called banknotes as they are issued by the Reserve Bank of India (Reserve Bank). The printing of notes in the denominations of Rs 2 and Rs 5 has been discontinued as these denominations have been coinised.  Government of India vide their Notification no. 2652 dated November 8, 2016 have withdrawn the Legal Tender status of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations of banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series issued by the Reserve Bank of India till November 8, 2016. Currency paper is composed of cotton and cotton rag.

The highest denomination note ever printed by the Reserve Bank of India was the ₹ 10000 note in 1938 and again in 1954. These notes were demonetized in 1946 and again in 1978.

What is the Indian currency called?

The Indian currency is called the Indian Rupee (INR) and the coins are called paise. One Rupee consists of 100 paise. The symbol of the Indian Rupee is ₹ . The design resembles both the Devanagari letter "₹" (ra) and the Latin capital letter "R", with a double horizontal line at the top.

What is the role of the Reserve Bank of India in currency management?

The Reserve Bank derives its role in currency management from the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The Reserve Bank manages currency in India. The Government, on the advice of the Reserve Bank, decides on various denominations of banknotes to be issued. The Reserve Bank also co-ordinates with the Government in the designing of banknotes, including the security features. The Reserve Bank estimates the quantity of banknotes that are likely to be needed denomination-wise and accordingly, places indent with the various printing presses. The aim of the Reserve Bank is to provide good quality notes to members of public. Towards this aim, the banknotes received back from circulation are examined and those fit for circulation are reissued and the others (soiled and mutilated) are destroyed so as to maintain the quality of banknotes in circulation.

What is the role of Government of India?

In terms of Section 25 of RBI Act, 1934 the design of banknotes is required to be approved by the Central Government on the recommendations of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India. The responsibility for coinage vests with the Government of India on the basis of the Coinage Act, 2011 as amended from time to time. The Government of India is also responsible for the designing and minting of coins in various denominations.

Who decides on the figure to be printed on a new note?

The Government of India in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India decides the design of banknotes.

Can banknotes and coins be issued only in these denominations?

Not necessarily. The Reserve Bank can also issue banknotes in the denominations of five thousand rupees and ten thousand rupees, or any other denomination that the Central Government may specify. However, there cannot be banknotes in denominations higher than ten thousand rupees in terms of the current provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Coins can be issued up to the denomination of Rs 1000 in terms of The Coinage Act, 2011.

How many languages appear in the language panel of Indian banknotes?

There are fifteen languages appearing in the language panel of banknotes in addition to Hindi prominently displayed in the centre of the note and English on the reverse of the banknote.

What is the meaning of "I promise to pay" clause?

As per Section 26 of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Bank is liable to pay the value of banknote. This is payable on demand by RBI, being the issuer. The Bank's obligation to pay the value of banknote does not arise out of a contract but out of statutory provisions. The promissory clause printed on the banknotes i.e., "I promise to pay the bearer the sum of Rupees …” is a statement which means that the banknote is a legal tender for the specified amount. The obligation on the part of the Bank is to exchange a banknote with bank notes of lower value or other coins which are legal tender under the Indian Coinage Act, 2011, of an equivalent amount.

How does the Reserve Bank reach the currency to people?

The Reserve Bank presently manages the currency operations through its 19 Issue offices located at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Belapur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Thiruvananthapuram, a currency chest at Kochi and a wide network of currency chests. These offices receive fresh banknotes from the banknote printing presses. The Issue Offices of RBI send fresh banknote remittances to the designated branches of commercial banks.

The Reserve Bank offices located at Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi (Mint linked Offices) initially receive the coins from the mints. These offices then send them to the other offices of the Reserve Bank who in turn send the same to currency chests and small coin depots. The banknotes and rupee coins are stocked at the currency chests and small coins at the small coin depots. The bank branches receive the banknotes and coins from the Currency Chests and Small Coin Depots for further distribution among the public.

What happens when the banknotes and coins return from circulation?

Banknotes returned from circulation are deposited at the Issue offices of the Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank subjects these to processing, authenticates banknotes for their genuineness, segregates them into notes fit for reissue and those which are unfit, for cancellation. The banknotes which are fit for reissue are sent back in circulation and those which are unfit for reissue are destroyed by way of shredding after completion of examination process. Coins do not come back from circulation, except those which are withdrawn.

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Source: RBI