Everybody has lost money, due to currency notes being washed along with dirty laundry. The washing machine, however, may no longer be able to eat your money. Arjun Ram Meghwal, minister of state for finance, recently told Lok Sabha that “it has been decided to conduct a field trial with plastic banknotes at five locations of the country. Approvals for procurement of plastic substrate and printing bank notes of Rs10 denomination on plastic substrate have been conveyed to the RBI (Reserve Bank of India).” Let’s know more about these notes.
Advantages
“Plastic banknotes are expected to last longer than cotton substrate-based banknotes,” said Meghwal, and added, “Central banks across the world have been exploring different solutions for extending the lifecycle of banknotes. These include introduction of plastic banknotes.” The pioneer in plastic notes is Australia, which started using them in January 1988.