The Reserve Bank of India has pumped in 73 crore pieces of coins for a value of Rs. 141 crore in Tamil Nadu during the last seven months to improve the coin distribution system, J. Sathakathullah, RBI Regional Director, Chennai, has said.
“We pumped in the coins in the denominations of Re 1, Rs. 2, 5 and 10 through the currency chest mechanism during the last seven months since April to improve the coin distribution system,” he told The Hindu on the sidelines of the ‘Kalam Puthaga Thiruvizha’ here on Friday.
As a result, every individual in the State should have at least ten coins, he said and exhorted the public to bring out the coins for circulation to address the problem of coin shortage.
The RBI was also launching coin and soil note exchange melas in the districts, he said, adding that the RBI had distributed coins and notes for a total value of Rs. 75 crore in the melas conducted in 22 districts so far.
“We proposed to cover the remaining districts in the State by March next year,” he said.
The RBI has also been making available coins by opening Coin Vending Machines (CVMs) in the State and the practice of shop keepers handing over chocolates for want of coins has been drastically reduced. Banks have installed 395 CVMs in the State with the help of RBI to cater to the general public and merchants, he said.
Referring to RBI opening a stall in the book fair here, he said the RBI opened stalls at all the fairs where it distributed coins and exchanged soiled notes.
