₹10 and ₹20 notes may be the first polymer currency as RBI's printing arm invites global bids: Report
Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL), the Reserve Bank of India's currency-printing arm, has invited a global Expression of Interest (EoI) from manufacturers to supply polymer substrate sheets for printing Indian banknotes.
The tender seeks an indicative supply of about 68,000 reams of opacified polymer substrate carrying security features, with each ream containing 500 sheets.
Reports indicate the ₹10 and ₹20 denominations are the likely candidates for an initial polymer trial, given their high circulation volume and shorter typical lifespan as paper notes.
The step is described as exploratory — a precursor to laboratory checks, printing trials, and eventual real-world circulation tests — not an announcement that paper currency will be replaced.
RBI's Statutory Authority to Issue Currency
The Reserve Bank of India derives its exclusive authority to issue currency notes from a specific statutory provision, which also bars any other authority — including the Central Government — from issuing currency notes.
Key Details
- Section 22(1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 gives RBI the sole right to issue bank notes in India.
- Section 22(2) of the same Act bars the Central Government from issuing currency notes once this provision took effect.
- Actual printing of banknotes is carried out through RBI's wholly-owned subsidiary BRBNMPL (incorporated in 1995, operating presses at Mysuru and Salboni) and the Government of India's Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), which operates currency note presses at Nashik and Dewas.
- The design of banknotes is approved by the Central Government on RBI's recommendation, while the RBI's Central Board decides denominations and volumes to be issued.
The polymer tender is being run by BRBNMPL precisely because it is one of the two currency-printing bodies operating under RBI's Section 22 mandate; any shift to polymer substrate would still be executed through this existing statutory printing architecture.
Polymer vs Paper (Cotton-based) Currency
India's current banknotes are printed on a cotton-fibre substrate, similar to most of the world's paper currency. Polymer notes use a synthetic plastic substrate instead, which several central banks have adopted for durability and security reasons.
Key Details
- Polymer notes are more durable than cotton-fibre paper notes, generally lasting several times longer in circulation, and are more resistant to moisture, dirt, and tearing.
- They carry enhanced security features difficult to replicate on paper, including transparent windows and specialised inks, which are harder for counterfeiters to reproduce.
- Modern polymer currency was pioneered by Australia (Reserve Bank of Australia with CSIRO) in 1988; other adopters include New Zealand (1999), Canada (2011), and the United Kingdom (Bank of England, from 2016). By the mid-2020s, dozens of countries had adopted polymer notes in full or in part.
- India's current notes belong to the Mahatma Gandhi New Series, introduced from November 2016, which carries security features such as a see-through registration device, a colour-shifting security thread, intaglio printing, and angular bleed lines for the visually impaired.
If India's trial succeeds, the ₹10 and ₹20 polymer notes would be an incremental addition within the existing Mahatma Gandhi New Series framework, adopting a substrate change rather than a redesign of the currency series itself.
- BRBNMPL's tender seeks approximately 68,000 reams (500 sheets each) of security-featured polymer substrate.
- The ₹10 and ₹20 denominations are the likely first candidates for a polymer pilot.
- Section 22 of the RBI Act, 1934 gives RBI the sole right to issue banknotes in India; the Central Government is barred from doing so under Section 22(2).
- Currency is physically printed via BRBNMPL (RBI's subsidiary, est. 1995) and SPMCIL (Government of India entity), operating presses across Nashik, Dewas, Mysuru, and Salboni.
- Australia pioneered modern polymer banknotes in 1988; the UK adopted them from 2016.