COIMBATORE:Though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a Clean Note Policy and asked the public and bankers not to staple currency notes or scribble on the watermark portion, its implementation remains difficult.
It was to provide the public good quality currency notes that the RBI issued the Clean Note Policy in November 2001. It also issued instructions from time to time to end stapling and use paper or polythene bands to increase the life of notes. The public were urged not to write on notes. Banks were instructed to sort notes into re-issuables and non-issuables and give only clean notes to the public.
“The watermark is a major security feature. If something is written on it, sorting machines will reject the note as bad. Sometimes, even those recently printed are rejected because of the writing. This is a waste in terms of printing cost,” said an RBI official.
The cost of printing a note varies from 66 paise to Rs 3.15, depending on the denomination (Rs 10-Rs 1000). The lifespan of the Rs 10 currency note is low as the circulation is high, but that of the Rs 1,000-note is high as its circulation is much less. In recent years, the circulation of the Rs 500 note has been increasing, said banking industry sources.
It has been almost 15 years since the Clean Note Policy was issued, but the objective is yet to be realised. Though there is not stapling now on 95 percent of notes, the public and even bankers, continue to write on the watermark portion, they say.
However, according to M V Rajan, general secretary, Coimbatore District Bank Employees Association, the Clean Note Policy has been implemented almost fully. Only a few people, due to lack of awareness, write on currency notes these days. There is no stapling of notes and they are bundled using paper bands.
Writing or stapling damages the note, especially the watermark portion, and reduces its lifespan, he pointed out.
A nationalised bank in North India recently put up a notice saying that a note with any extraneous writing would be considered a piece of paper with effect from June 30 and that such notes would not be accepted by the bank nor by the market.
However, this could be a move to discourage people from writing on notes as banks have not received any RBI circular about the June 30 deadline, say bankers.
‘Fix Deadline to Weed Out Stapled, Scribbled Notes’
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should fix a deadline to eliminate scribbled and stapled currency notes and strictly implement it. Only then, the objective of the ‘Clean Note Policy’ can be achieved, say consumer activists.
“If the government wants to implement the Clean Note Policy effectively, it should first fix a deadline for scribbled and stapled currency notes to be taken out of circulation. Unless a time frame is fixed, any policy cannot be implemented effectively,” argued K Kathirmathiyon, Secretary, Coimbatore Consumer Cause.
“The public should be given a three month or six month window to exchange scribbled and damaged currency notes for non-scribbled or non-stapled notes. After the expiry of this period, the bank should not accept such scribbled or stapled notes,” he added. “Once the use of scribbled or stapled currency is banned, the public also will then stop accepting these notes. They will also stop scribbling or stapling them out of fear that the currency would become an invalid tender,” Kathirmathiyon opined.
Endorsing his views, J Vanangamudi, vice-president, Canara Bank Officers Association, said, “The only way to discourage public from writing on notes or stapling is strict legislation.”
“If the government and RBI announce that scribbled or stapled notes are not valid, then the public will stop accepting such notes, as well as scribbling on them. The practice has in fact come down in recent times. Only in few places like villages, writing on currency note happens. This can also be avoided by creating more awareness among customers,” he added.
Another banker requesting anonymity said, “These days, it is difficult for even bankers to identify counterfeit currency, due to the quality of paper used and the printing. Hence, the common man or cashiers who received high denomination notes, are used to writing the details about the person who gave the note to them. This will help identify the person who gave the counterfeit currency, at any later stage.
