The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is considering using images of Rabindranath Tagore and APJ Abdul Kalam, alongside Mahatma Gandhi, on the new series of currency notes, said reports.
Changes in banknotes
In India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing banknotes has been maintaining a watermark of only one notable figure, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the father of the nation. But in what could be a first, the RBI could consider introducing the watermarks of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and 11th Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam.
According to reports, the Central Bank and the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India (SPMCIL) have sent two model sets of Gandhi, Tagore, and Kalam to IIT-Delhi Emeritus Professor Dilip T Shahani, who is responsible for selecting and submitting watermarks to the government for final approval.
RBI’s call
Further, the media report claimed that in 2020, an RBI internal committee whose task was to suggest new security elements on the currency notes suggested that multiple personalities can be included in the new series of currency notes.
Further, reports pointed out that the final decision to pick one or all the three watermarks will be taken at the ‘highest level’. As of now, no definite decision has been taken.
The currency notes in the United States have images of former President Abraham Lincoln, along with the country’s notable leaders, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Alexander Hamilton.
