Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Ltd. (BRBNMPL) – a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India which prints banknotes – has said it has the capacity to print 16 billion pieces of currency notes per annum, when operating in two shifts and when the presses are operating at full capacity.
In reply to an RTI query filed by The Hindu , BRBNMPL said the new ₹500 notes are printed both by the government-owned Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd. and BRBNMPL while the ₹2,000 denomination bank notes are printed only at BRBNMPL.
“The capacity of printing presses of government of India is not available,” the RBI subsidiary said.
Following the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes in November 2016, 22 billion pieces of currency notes were withdrawn from circulation – of which 15.7 billion were in ₹500 notes and 6.3 billion were of the ₹1,000 denomination. However, BRBNMPL declined to reply to queries seeking information on the specific number of new ₹500 and ₹2,000 notes that had been printed and circulated, as well as questions on the security features in the new notes citing Section 8 (1) a of the Right to Information Act, which allows information to be withheld if it “would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State.” BRBNMPL also sidestepped a question on whether the government or RBI plan to print currency notes outside the country and said, “Information not held by BRBNMPL.”
