India set to mint money for neighbours

During the second half of British rule, till 1928, India would get its currency notes printed at UK's Thomas De La Rue Giori, one of the world's largest financial printers then. Some 80 years down the line, India is exploring the possibility of minting money for some of its neighbours, and that too, on a regular basis. The Indian government has recently received requests from undisclosed neighbouring countries to print their currency notes.

If the proposal does get all statutory clearances, it will be the first time since Independence that India will print currency notes for other countries. Before Independence, India did print currencies for Burma (now Myanmar) and some Middle East countries.

And why is India suddenly back in circulation? "Apparently, these neighbouring countries are facing an upsurge in circulation of counterfeit currencies," said an external affairs ministry official. It is well-known that India uses sophisticated technologies for printing currencies. The official confirmed receiving requests from three countries. "A decision is yet to be taken. The government is mulling all options," he said.

The proposal also appears to be a perfect fit for Indian currency presses, which have been running with excess capacity since 1999. India has four currency printing presses — in Nasik (Maharashtra), Dewas (Madhya Pradesh), Mysore (Karnataka) and the latest in Salboni (West Bengal). The collective annual capacity of these four units is pegged at 18 billion pieces. In fact, if allowed to operate in two shifts, these units can churn out 28 billion pieces. India, on the other hand, needs only about 15 billion currency notes.

At present, India prints currency notes using paper substrates made from 100% cotton pulp. The country is now looking to use an improved variant called polymer substrate. Currently, just about 25 countries use polymer substrate for printing their currencies.

India started printing currency notes back in 1928 with the establishment of India Security Press at Nasik. The second currency note printing press was established in Dewas in 1975. Both the Nasik and Dewas presses are directly under the government while the remaining two, in Mysore and Nasik, are under RBI.