RBI committee spells measures to tackle fake currency
12 Aug 2009
To tackle the menace of fake Indian currency notes, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committee has proposed a series of measures to the central bank in order to stay ahead of counterfeiters.
A high-level group on 'systems and procedures for currency distribution', headed by RBI deputy governor Usha Thorat has recommended that the central bank should constantly review and adopt modern technology in creating new security features in currency notes.
The group said the public should be made aware of the upgraded security features on the currency notes, which will enable them to detect fake notes from the genuine.
It also proposed that all new ATMs should have an in-built fake currency checking mechanism, and over a period, all existing ATMs should also have the new mechanism.
The group recommended that all bank branches should install note sorting machines or desktop sorters, which will help the bank in detecting fake currency before it enters the banking system.
In the first phase, by end March 2010, all bank branches having an average daily cash receipt of Rs1 crore or above, should install the note sorting machines and bank branches with average daily cash receipt of more than Rs50 lakh, by March 2011.
