Extra security features needed in Rs 500, Rs 2000 notes: Congress MP

There was no time to introduce additional security features in the new currency notes, the MP said

Extra security features should be introduced in the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes as fake currency of high value had started surfacing within weeks of the demonetisation decision, a Congress MP said on Wednesday.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Subbarami Reddy said if not curbed, the circulation of fake currency will destablise the country's economy.

"I demand that the RBI and the Government of India take all steps to address the issue of counterfeit notes of high value being pushed by smugglers through the porous Indo-Bangladesh border and introduce additional security features," he said.

"It is a very serious matter," Reddy said.

He said fake currency notes of high value had started surfacing in the market within a few weeks of the annnoucement of demonetisation announced by the Prime Minister on November 8 last year.

There was no time to introduce additional security features in the new currency notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500, he said.

RBI officials reportedly admit that adding extra security features requires a mamooth excercise and needs several rounds of consulation, the Congress member said.