Rise of counterfeit notes in circulation worries Pranab

Mysore, March 22 : Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday voiced concern over the increase in circulation of counterfeit notes from across the border.

"To put an end to this menace of counterfeit notes from across the border, it has become necessary to print currency notes that cannot be duplicated," Mukherjee said after laying the foundation stone for the new currency paper production unit at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Note Printing Press here, about 150 km from Bangalore.

RBI Governor D. Subbarao, who was present on the occasion, said one billion polymer bank notes would be printed at the Note Press that can be recycled as plastic later.

The new currency unit, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs.1,500 crore (Rs.15 billion) at the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Ltd, a subsidiary of the central bank, is aimed at countering the problem of fake currency notes, reducing security risks and achieving self-reliance in printing currency notes.

The Karnataka government has agreed to supply additional power to the new facility that will be built on the extended 400-acre area over the next three years.

The RBI plans to print new notes on the special security currency paper produced indigenously by using cellulose and water as basic materials, including cotton from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

According to an official of the Note Press, the new unit would create 500 direct jobs and about 2,000 indirect jobs.

The Rs.1,000 denomination notes were first printed at this press, using imported paper from western countries.

The note printing press was set up in 1996.