Sunday, Jun 08, 2003
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By Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar
The discs, which have been circulated to the RBI's main offices as well as the regional offices, will guide bankers and the public alike on the two topics. The education campaign would guide people on distinguishing between fake and genuine notes. In the case of Rs 500 notes it would inform how the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi appears as a watermark in the empty space on the front when the note is held against the light. Further, it would describe the quality of paper and print and inform how the fluorescent in number panels glows under the ultra violet lamp and the optic fibre in the entire note also glows. The film would also depict how the printed matter is in intaglio or raised printing which can be felt by finger touch. Also, a solid black circle in intaglio has been provide on the front left for visually impaired. The film would help distinguish the fakes notes from the genuine ones. Though the issue of fakes is a raging one, the RBI believes that the situation is under control. The General Manager (Issue Department), K. Subbarao, says fake notes constitute a minuscule percentage of the total notes as about 40 billion pieces of currency worth nearly Rs 2.79 lakh crores are in circulation. Also, he said, a large number of fake currencies are being seized as RBI keeps strict watch on areas where their confiscations are reported. Incidentally, the cases reported are more in certain pockets of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Hyderabad. To sort out the fakes, RBI has also purchased 42 Currency Verification and Processing System machines of which three are installed in Delhi. Mr Subbarao said these machines, imported from Germany, not only sort out the fake ones along with the torn currency as "suspect'', they also segregate the fit and the unfit notes, which are primarily those like Rs 100 notes with Ashoka emblem on top that are being removed from circulation. Incidentally, RBI has embarked on a major "clean notes'' campaign. As the stock of such notes in the 4,300 currency chests across the country had dramatically increased, RBI took to removing them in a big way. "In two years 12 billion pieces have been sucked out''. Its cause has been greatly helped by the German machines, each of which sorts out around 60,000 notes per hour or over 3 lakh per day. The removal of the soiled notes means that henceforth more and more ATM and automatic vending machines will be able to function optimally. Also, to preserve the notes, the RBI has issued a directive to all banks to stop their stapling. "Already the compliance rate has crossed 80 per cent and we are hopeful that stapling would soon end'', said the official. However, as only unstapled notes are being accepted by most banks, customers now face a new problem. They end up becoming "responsible'' for fakes emerging therein.
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