The government has approved field trials of polymer bank notes of Rs 10 and Rs 20. 100-100 crore polymer notes of both will be issued. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave this information in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Notes will be issued regularly after successful trial. RBI had proposed field trial of 100-100 crore polymer notes of Rs 10 and Rs 20. After the successful trial, polymer notes of both will be issued regularly. The Finance Minister said that the government has approved the proposal. According to RBI, polymer notes will be issued along with paper notes. He said that the process of purchasing polymer notes is still in the initial stage. Therefore, at present it is not possible to tell the exact time frame of their release. Know important things related to this news in question and answer… Question 1: What are polymer notes and why is the government bringing them? Answer: Polymer banknotes are printed on a special type of plastic material i.e. polymer substrate instead of paper. These are as light to touch as normal notes, but do not fade even when soaked in water and last a long time. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had recently told that these notes have been successfully used in many countries of the world like Britain, Australia and Canada as polymer currency notes for more than 30 years. Main reasons for bringing these – Long life: These notes do not get spoiled by water, dust and dirt and do not tear easily. Control on fake notes: Advanced security features can be easily added to the polymer sheet, which will make it almost impossible to make fake notes. Saving in Printing Expenses: Paper notes get spoiled quickly, which increases printing expenses. In FY25, RBI had spent ₹6,372.8 crore on printing of paper notes. Polymer notes will last longer, which will reduce the cost of repeated printing. Question 2: Will the old paper notes be discontinued? Answer: Not at all. The government and RBI have made it completely clear that with the introduction of polymer notes, old paper notes will not go out of circulation. Circulation will continue: Until new notes are fully introduced, paper notes will remain in circulation. Question 3: When was the polymer note proposed? Answer: India tried to introduce polymer notes for the first time in 2012 to increase the shelf life of the notes, but the project was stopped due to technical reasons. May-June: Media reports and RBI report talked about consideration of polymer notes to increase the shelf life. In June, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra confirmed that the proposal for polymer notes was under consideration and its pros and cons were being evaluated. Question 4: In which countries of the world do plastic notes circulate? Polymer banknotes have been put into circulation in more than 60 countries of the world. These include countries like Australia, Canada, United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand. Question 5: When were the notes changed in India? Answer: Since independence, the decision to demonetise or close down high value notes has been taken on a large scale 3 times in India… 1. For the first time – January 1946 (British period/just before independence): What happened: The then British government had demonetised the high denomination notes of ₹ 500, ₹ 1000 and ₹ 10,000. Objective: To flush out black money and illegal earnings made during the war. Later: In 1954, the government reintroduced notes of ₹1,000, ₹5,000 and ₹10,000. 2. Second time – January 1978 (Morarji Desai government): What happened: Janata Party government demonetized high denomination notes of ₹1,000, ₹5,000 and ₹10,000. Objective: To stop the use of black money and corruption in elections. 3. Third time – 8 November 2016 (Narendra Modi government): What happened: At 8 pm, Prime Minister Modi declared the ₹ 500 and ₹ 1,000 notes circulating in the country invalid overnight. Changes: A new note of ₹ 500 was issued in its place and a new note of ₹ 2,000 was issued for the first time. Withdrawal of ₹2000 note (May 2023): On May 19, 2023, RBI announced the withdrawal of ₹2,000 note from circulation under the ‘Clean Note Policy’. However, it was not called demonetization because time was given to deposit it in the bank or exchange it.
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