Bangalore, June 09: Every time you get a Rs 500 note or a Rs 1,000 one, you check to see whether it’s genuine or not. A few months down the line, life should be easier.
The government has decided to use special “blue paper” to print high-value notes, as these are difficult to counterfeit. These notes will be available by end-2010.
Blue paper is produced using cotton and linen fibre as raw material. This paper glows when passed under ultraviolet rays (or even a tubelight). It is made using a special dye which gives it its unique blue tinge. The blue tinge makes it almost impossible for even high quality photocopiers to accurately match the shade.
The move to shift to blue paper comes in the wake of large-scale circulation of fake notes, allegedly by Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), as part of its broader effort to destabilise the economy and fund terror activities.
According to highly-placed sources in the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India (SPMCI), responsibility for printing the new counterfeit-proof notes has already been entrusted to the Nashik Currency Note Press (CNP).
The Union finance minister has made a provision of Rs1,063.20 crore for printing new currency notes and coins in this year’s budget.
The CNP is currently in the process of procuring blue paper, which will help banks and other agencies to check the authenticity of notes.
–Agencies–