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Volume IconWhat pictures can be used on currency notes

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal believes images of deities on legal tenders can help India attain 'economic prosperity'. Other political parties disagree. What visuals can the govt use on legal tenders?

ImageAkash Podishetty New Delhi
Indian rupee

Photo: Bloomberg


Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has presented his plan to boost the Indian economy, and the plan can, at best, be called "different". He wrote to the government of India and asked for the images of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesha to be used alongside Mahatma Gandhi's on Indian currency notes. He argues that this can help bring economic prosperity to the country.

But it has turned the spotlight on one important question. What visuals can be used on legal tenders in India? The question has become critical, given India's constitutional status as a secular democracy. But what images can be used on currency notes? And who decides on the design of banknotes and coins? But before that, a brief look at the evolution of currency notes after independence.

Evolution of currency notes in India
The first bank note issued by independent India was the one rupee note in 1949. The new banknotes had a symbol of the Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath in the watermark window in place of the portrait of King George.

In 1969, Mahatma Gandhi first featured on Indian currency notes when a commemorative design series was issued in honour of the birth centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.

Later in 1996, a completely new 'Mahatma Gandhi Series' was introduced with a changed watermark, windowed security thread, latent image and intaglio features for the visually handicapped. There were also some notes with images of important sites and monuments in different series.

Who decides on the design and form of currency notes
Section 25 of the RBI Act says that the Central Government shall approve the design, form and material of bank notes after considering the recommendations made by the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India.

This effectively means the RBI and the central government decide the changes in the design and form of bank notes.

The process
The RBI's currency management department formulates a design and sends it to the Central Board for approval. The Central Board of RBI then recommends the design to the central government, and if it deems fit, the government clears the changes to images or design of bank notes.

There were reports earlier this year that the RBI might be considering using the images of Rabindranath Tagore and A P J Abdul Kalam, alongside Mahatma Gandhi, on the new series of currency notes. The Central bank then clarified that there are no plans to replace the face of Mahatma Gandhi with that of others.

The images on the currency notes represent the country's cultural significance and ethos. In 2010, a panel constituted by the Centre decided that no other personality could better represent the ethos of India better than Mahatma Gandhi.

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First Published: Oct 31 2022 | 7:00 AM IST