In an effort to efficiently deal with increasing circulation of banknotes, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon be setting up an Automated Banknote Processing Centre (ABPC) in Jaipur for the receipt, storage and dispatch of currency notes. The features of the ABPC will be inclusive of processing of banknotes received from currency chests (CCs) and bank branches and the marring of soiled banknotes in an automated manner, as per the RBI’s Request for Proposal (RFP).
Increasing volume of banknotes in circulation has been witnessed in Indi
The bulk of banknotes in circulation has tripled in comparison of March 2001 to March 2019 and looking forward, substantial growth is expected in the coming years. As per reports, the supply of banknotes by the presses has increased about four times from March 2001 to March 2019 and is expected to escalate further. RBI is the sole issuer of banknotes in India and this apex body is also responsible for the management of currency and all its aspects.
The official document read, “Cash remains an important mode of payment for most Indian citizens, notwithstanding the growth in digital payments. In fact, the banknotes in circulation have been concurrently growing with the rise in digital payments. The global trend of the increasing volume of banknotes in circulation has been witnessed in India as well.”
ABPC expected to provide for storage and dispatch of banknotes
“This has necessitated a relook at the present system of cash management and a need is felt to automate the handling of banknotes for receipt, storage, retrieval, processing and destruction, in line with the global changes, adopting modern technology,” the document added. One of the highlights of the proposed ABPC would be automated receipt and storage of freshly minted money sourced from the printing presses, mechanical retrieval and dispatch of the banknotes, to the identified issue offices (IOs)/CCs.
Reportedly, the proposed ABPC is expected to provide for storage and dispatch of banknotes and the storage and processing of soiled banknotes to/from the identified CCs/bank branches, covering the jurisdiction of the states being catered. “The facility may be designed to store the daily average fresh note stock requirement and hold a stock of about 15 days of soiled banknotes and provide commensurate processing and destruction capacities,” the document stated.
