The federal government has decided to phase out the Rs. 10 currency note from circulation, while State Bank officials said that designs for new currency notes are being finalized.
A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance was held under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla. The Committee Chairman said that two years ago, three Rs. 5,000 notes were given to the Deputy Governor of the State Bank — one of them was fake, but State Bank officials could not even detect the counterfeit note.
He added that the State Bank has still not returned the three Rs. 5,000 notes even after two years. His remarks drew laughter in the committee meeting. Saleem Mandviwalla said that the contract for printing the new currency notes has been given to a consultant.
“The State Bank has not been able to produce new currency notes for two years. The condition of the State Bank is even worse than that of the government.”State Bank officials said that the Rs. 5,000 note was introduced 20 years ago, and now a new note is being designed to last for the next 20 years. One proposal is to discontinue the Rs. 10 note because its production cost is higher than its value.
Committee member Anusha Rehman asked why the State Bank is not using AI. She said the State Bank got the designs approved by a sub-committee of the cabinet, and at this pace it will take even more time.
She added, “You will take months to get one design approved by a sub-committee. If the cabinet committee makes any changes, you will have to go back to the sub-committee again.
“Saleem Mandviwalla said, “The way things are going, our term will end but the new notes won’t be ready.”State Bank officials informed the committee that the cabinet committee is finalizing the designs for the new currency notes and that the Rs. 10 note is being phased out gradually.
New security features are being added to the new notes. The production cost of Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 1,000 notes is Rs. 14 per note. The Committee Chairman, Saleem Mandviwalla, said that given the current pace of designing the new notes, he fears their term will end before the new notes are even issued.
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