Visually impaired friendly currency: Spent over ₹4,000 crore for only security printing, RBI tells Bombay High Court

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that in 2022-23, the expenditure for security printing of currencies alone was over ₹4,000 crore, and that printing new currency for the benefit of the visually impaired will cost much more [National Association of Blind v. Reserve Bank of India & Ors].The banking regulator filed an affidavit pointing out that introducing a new series of bank notes is a monumental task. “This has to be thought through carefully because having multiple series of banknotes of different sizes and features of the same denomination will cause more confusion than resolve the problem. The expenditure that will be incurred in introducing a new series of notes can be understood from the annual expenditure towards security printing which is ₹4682.80 crore for 2022-23,” the affidavit stated..The regulator also clarified that this amount was only for printing notes to replace old and damaged notes and to meet the incremental demand of bank notes. “The cost of introducing a new series of banknotes will be much higher,” the affidavit emphasized. .The affidavit was filed in a public interest litigation petition filed in 2019 by the National Association for the Blind (NAB) which contended that the new currency notes issued by RBI are unidentifiable for visually impaired persons owing to changes in their physical features.In July 2022, RBI informed the High Court about the several tactile features in currency notes to help visually impaired persons to easily identify the denomination..The regulator submitted that it had taken all necessary steps in studying the grievances highlighted by NAB and was examining the same with due seriousness.RBI acknowledged the concerns of visually impaired persons regarding identification of banknotes.“The process involves taking feedback/comments from representatives of two national level associations of visually impaired and to the extent feasible, the concerns will be factored in the next series of banknotes. Introducing a new series of bank notes is a monumental task. This has to be thought through carefully,” RBI said, seeking dismissal of the petition. .Advocates Uday Warunjikar and Sumit Kate for NAB pointed out that the affidavit did not contain what steps were being taken by RBI to bring the new series. The Court then asked NAB to respond to the RBI’s affidavit. It also asked RBI to clarify what specific steps will it be taking to resolve the issues raised in the petition. It then adjourned the matter for twelve weeks. .[Read order]