Currency-crunch is due to faulty planning and whim of bureaucrats
- When Lok Sabha elections were announced in the year 2014 with political rulers heading only a caretaker government, some bureaucrats in Union Finance Ministry misused their authority to initiate a file for re-issue of one-rupee note after about two decades of its discontinuance just to have their signatures on the currency. It is to be noted that only one-rupee note bears signature of a Secretary to Government of India while all others bear signature of Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Newly issued one-rupee note on 06.03.2015 at Nathdwara temple (Rajasthan) and still being continued to be printing is not even known to people of this country, and is available only on heavy premium of ten times. Printing of this note should be immediately discontinued to utilize available capacity to print more 500-rupee notes. Those having taken selfish decision to re-issue one-rupee note should be punished with publicity to avoid such power-misuse in future. It is surprising how Union Finance Minister approved the decision when even RBI opined against it.
- Printing of notes of rupees 20 and 100 is not being done presently because designs and sizes of only these two denominations are yet to be changed. New-designed notes of rupees 2000 and 500 were issued in compulsion to meet challenge of demonetization on 08.11.2016. But planning for issue of new-designed notes in rest other denominations should have been simultaneous rather in phases also to avoid repeated costly calibration of ATMs.
- Experimental issue of plastic notes of rupees ten with longer life could not be started till now despite being first announced in Rajya Sabha on 12.03.2013. In five long years, plastic-currency could be issued in all denominations increasing like of currency-notes which could have reduced demand of new currency. Publicized action is necessary against officials responsible for sitting on file relating to plastic-currency for five years.
