R. B. I. - Question &
Answers -- 1
1] What are the functions of RBI?
The
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) manages currency in India. The Government, on the
advice of the Reserve Bank, decides on the various denominations.
The
Reserve Bank also co-ordinates with the Government in the designing of bank
notes, including the security features.
The
Reserve Bank estimates the quantity of notes that are likely to be needed denomination-wise,
and places the indent with the various presses through the Government of India.
The
notes received from the presses are issued and a reserve stock maintained.
Notes received from banks and currency chests are examined.
Notes
fit for circulation are reissued and the others (soiled and mutilated) are
destroyed so as to maintain the quality of notes in circulation.
The
Reserve Bank derives its role in currency management on the basis of the
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
To facilitate the distribution of notes and rupee coins, the Reserve Bank has authorized selected branches of banks to establish currency chests.
To facilitate the distribution of notes and rupee coins, the Reserve Bank has authorized selected branches of banks to establish currency chests.
These
are actually storehouses where bank notes and rupee coins are stocked on behalf
of the Reserve Bank.
At
present, there are over 4368 currency chests.
The
currency chest branches are expected to distribute notes and rupee coins to
other bank branches in their area of operation.
The Reserve Bank estimates the demand for bank notes on the basis of the growth rate of the economy, the replacement demand and reserve requirements by using statistical models.
The Reserve Bank estimates the demand for bank notes on the basis of the growth rate of the economy, the replacement demand and reserve requirements by using statistical models.
The
Reserve Bank decides upon the volume and value of bank notes to be printed.
The
quantum of bank notes that needs to be printed broadly depends on the annual
increase in bank notes required for circulation purposes, replacement of soiled
notes and reserve requirements.
2] Who prints coins?
The Government of India decides upon the quantity of coins to be minted. The responsibility for coinage vests with Government of India on the basis of the Coinage Act, 1906 as amended from time to time. The designing and minting of coins in various denominations is also attended to by the Government of India
3] What is the role of foreign influence?
No. Absolutely there is no external foreign or IMF control on the estimation, printing or circulation of Indian rupee notes and coins.
The Government of India decides upon the quantity of coins to be minted. The responsibility for coinage vests with Government of India on the basis of the Coinage Act, 1906 as amended from time to time. The designing and minting of coins in various denominations is also attended to by the Government of India
3] What is the role of foreign influence?
No. Absolutely there is no external foreign or IMF control on the estimation, printing or circulation of Indian rupee notes and coins.
But
the only external control on the value of Indian money in the international
circulation is the “Exchange rate”, with reference to various other national
currencies.
Indian
money is tied to a basket of European currencies (now jointly represented by
Euro).
The
exchange rate parity of rupee fluctuates based on the Indian balance of payment
to the world, exports/imports and the parity of Euro in the international
market.
4] What is the gold standard?
The
gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account
is a fixed weight of gold and all currency issuance is to one degree or another
regulated by the gold supply.
To
protect the public and guarantee the nation against any bankruptcy, the RBI
keeps a certain percentage of gold in their own safe deposit vault, in
proportion to the additional currency minted and directed into the circulation.
The
quantum percentage of gold kept in the deposit is not exposed in any documents
or in the Websites of RBI or the Government of India..
In modern mainstream economic thought, a gold standard is considered undesirable because it is associated with the collapse of the world economy in the late 1920's.
In modern mainstream economic thought, a gold standard is considered undesirable because it is associated with the collapse of the world economy in the late 1920's.
That aggregated the need for the supply and
demand in a far better means of regulating interest rates, money supply and
monetary basis.
While
the gold standard is not currently in use, it has advocates for its
resurrection and forms part of a basic theory of monetary policy as a standard
for comparison for other monetary systems.
Advocates of a variety of gold standards argue
that gold is the only universal measure of value, that gold standards prevent
inflation by preventing the creation of unlimited money supply in a “fiat”
currency, and that it provides the soundest theoretical basis for a monetary
system.
5] What is called fiat money?
d) In today’s economics the fiat currency (a legally binding command or decision entered on the court or government record ) or fiat money is money that enjoys legal tender status derived from a declaratory fiat or an authoritative order of the govt.
d) In today’s economics the fiat currency (a legally binding command or decision entered on the court or government record ) or fiat money is money that enjoys legal tender status derived from a declaratory fiat or an authoritative order of the govt.
6] Why can’t a country print money and become rich?
It value goes down.
There will be more commodities than currency.
An item which costs Rs. X may cost Rs. X + Y.
If more currency is available, the no. of
purchasers rise and this leads to inflation.
So, more printing of money can cause inflation, valueless, and it
may become waste paper.
It happened in II WW in Germany.
7] When can a country
print more currency?
A lot of people
have this misconception that a country’s currency is backed by the gold it
holds. But, this is simply not true – any country can print as much money as
they want, and they don’t need to have any gold to back their currency.
In fact, in
recessionary times – countries do resort to printing money, or what is known as
Quantitative
Easing, – a term that became popular just after the recession.
But, that measure
is only for extreme situations, and is also considered dangerous because
printing money causes inflation in an economy, and if you print too much money
you can get hyper – inflation also.
8] How is the price finally fixed?
The price of any
product is largely determined by its demand and supply, and when you super
impose the price curve and demand curve – the intersection is called the
equilibrium price, and it is generally believed that prices will move towards
this point and stabilize here.
In our example this
will look something like this. Demand and Supply
The Indian currency
is called the Indian Rupee (INR) and the coins are called paise. One Rupee
consists of 100 paise.
Not necessarily.
The Reserve Bank can also issue banknotes in the denominations of five thousand
rupees and ten thousand rupees, or any other denomination that the Central Government
may specify. There cannot, though, be banknotes in denominations higher
than ten thousand rupees in terms of the current provisions of the
Reserve Bank of India of Act, 1934. Coins can be issued up to the
denomination of Rs.1000.
11] Why Demonetization
of higher denomination banknotes is done?
Rs. 1000 and
Rs.10000 banknotes, which were then in circulation were demonetized in January
1946, primarily to curb unaccounted money. The higher denomination banknotes in
Rs.1000, Rs.5000 and Rs.10000 were reintroduced in the year 1954, and these banknotes
(Rs.1000, Rs.5000 and Rs.10000) were again demonetized in January 1978.
12] What is legal
tender?
The coins issued
under the authority of Section 6 of The Coinage Act, 1906, shall be legal
tender in payment or on account i.e. provided that a coin has not been defaced
and has not lost weight so as to be less than such weight as may be prescribed
in its
case: -
case: -
(a)
coin of any denomination not lower than one rupee shall be legal tender for any
sum, (b)
half rupee coin shall be legal tender for any sum not exceeding ten rupees,
(c)
any other coin shall be legal tender for any sum not exceeding one rupee
[Section 13 of The Coinage Act, 1906].
Similarly, the One
Rupee notes issued under the Currency Ordinance, 1940 are also legal tender and
included in the expression Rupee coin for all the purposes of the Reserve Bank
of India Act, 1934.
Every banknote
issued by Reserve Bank of India (Rs.2, Rs.5, Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50, Rs.100,
Rs.500 and Rs.1000) shall be legal tender at any place in India in payment or
on account for the amount expressed therein, and shall be guaranteed by the
Central Government, subject to provisions of sub-section (2) Section 26 of RBI
Act, 1934.
13] What is the
meaning of "I promise to pay" clause?
As per Section 26 of Reserve Bank of India
Act, 1934, the Bank is liable to pay the value of banknote. This is payable on
demand by RBI, being the issuer.
The Bank's obligation to pay the value of
banknote does not arise out of a contract but out of statutory provisions.
The promissory clause printed on the
banknotes i.e.,
"I
promise to pay the bearer an amount of X"
is a statement
which means that the banknote is a legal tender for X amount. The obligation on
the part of the Bank is to exchange a banknote for coins of an equivalent
amount.
14] Why is One Rupee
liability of the Government of India?
The Government of India derives authority
to issue Rupee coins from the Coinage Act. As such the rupee coins issued
by Government constitute the liabilities of the Government.
15] What is money?
Money as a means of payment, consists of
coins, paper money and withdrawable bank deposits. Today, credit cards and
electronic cash form an important component of the payment system. For a common
person though, money simply means currency and coins. This is so because in India,
the payment system, especially for retail transactions still revolves mainly
around currency and coins. Here is an attempt to answer some of the Frequently
Asked Questions on Indian Currency.
The first
documented coinage se
ems to have started
with 'Punch Marked' coins issued between the 7th-6th Century BC and 1st Century
AD. The coinage can be classified into the following periods:
a.
Ancient
b.
Medival
c.
Mughal
d.
Late pre-colonial
e.
British India
f.
Republic India
g.
Others.
India won its independence on August 15,
1947. During the period of transition India retained the monetary system and
the currency and coinage of the earlier period. India brought out its
distinctive coins on 15th August, 1950.
Coins in India are presently being issued
in denominations of 25 paise, 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees and five rupees.
Coins upto 50 paise are called 'small coins' and coins of Rupee one and above
are called 'Rupee Coins'. Coins can be issued up to the denomination of Rs.1000
as per the Coinage Act, 1906.
Financial Instruments and 'Hundies' in
India have a venerable history. Paper Money, in the modern sense, traces its
origins to the late eighteenth century with the issues of private banks as well
as those of semi-government banks.
The Paper Currency Act of 1861 conferred
upon Government of India the monopoly of Note Issue bringing to end banknote
issues of Private and Presidency Banks.
Government of India continued to issue
currency notes till the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was established on 1st April,
1935.
Reserve Bank issued banknotes in January
1938 when the first Five Rupee banknote was issued bearing the portrait of
George VI. This was followed by Rs. 10 in February, Rs. 100 in March and Rs.
1,000 and Rs. 10,000 in June 1938.
The George VI series continued till 1947 and
thereafter as a frozen series till 1950
when post independence banknotes were
issued, with the Ashoka
Pillar watermark.
Banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series were introduced in 1996 and were issued
in a phased manner in the denominations of Rs.5, Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50, Rs.100, Rs.500 and Rs.1000.
Banknotes in MG series 2005, in the
denomination of Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50, Rs.100 Rs.500, and Rs.1000 with additional
/ new security features are presently being issued.
At present,
banknotes in India are issued in the denomination of Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50,
Rs.100, Rs.500 and Rs.1000. These notes are called banknotes as they are issued
by the Reserve Bank of India (Reserve Bank). The printing of notes in the
denominations of Re.1, Rs. 2 and Rs.5 has been discontinued as these
denominations have been coinised. However, such banknotes issued earlier can
still be found in circulation and these banknotes continue to be legal tender.
The Reserve Bank derives its role in
currency management from the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.The Reserve Bank
manages currency in India. The Government, on the advice of the Reserve Bank,
decides on various denominations of banknotes to be issued. The Reserve Bank
also co-ordinates with the Government in the designing of banknotes, including
the security features.
The Reserve Bank estimates the quantity of
banknotes that are likely to be needed denomination-wise and accordingly,
places indent with the various printing presses. Banknotes received from banks
and currency chests are examined and those fit for circulation are reissued and
the others (soiled and mutilated) are destroyed so as to maintain the quality
of banknotes in circulation.
In terms of Section 25 of RBI Act, 1934
the design of banknotes is required to be approved by the Central Government on
the recommendations of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India.
The responsibility for coinage vests with the Government of India
on the basis of the Coinage Act, 1906 as amended from time to time.
The Government of India also attends to
the designing and minting of coins in various denominations.
The Reserve Bank decides the volume and
value of banknotes to be printed each year. The quantum of banknotes that needs
to be printed, broadly depends on the requirement for meeting the demand for
banknotes due to
1. Inflation,
2. GDP
growth,
3. Replacement
of soiled banknotes and
4. Reserve
stock requirements.
The Government of
India decides the quantity of coins to be minted on the basis of indents
received from the Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank
estimates the demand for banknotes on the basis of the growth rate of the
economy, the replacement demand and reserve stock requirements by using
statistical models/techniques.
The Reserve Bank presently manages the
currency operations through its
18 Issue offices
located at
1.
Ahmadabad,
2.
Bangalore,
3.
Belapur,
4.
Bhopal,
5.
Bhubaneswar,
6.
Chandigarh,
7.
Chennai,
8.
Guwahati,
9.
Hyderabad,
10.
Jaipur,
11.
Jammu,
12.
Kanpur,
13.
Kolkata,
14.
Mumbai,
15.
Nagpur,
16.
New Delhi,
17.
Patna,
18.
Thiruvananthapuram,
one sub-office at Lucknow,
a currency chest at Kochi and
a wide net work of currency
chests.
These offices receive fresh banknotes from
the banknote printing presses. The Issue Offices of RBI send fresh banknote
remittances to the designated branches of commercial banks.
The Reserve Bank offices located at Mint linked Offices at
1.
Hyderabad,
2.
Kolkata,
3.
Mumbai and
4.
New Delhi
initially receive
the coins from the mints.
These offices then send them to the other
offices of the Reserve Bank. The banknotes and rupee coins are stocked at the
currency chests and small coins at the small coin depots.
The bank branches receive the banknotes
and coins from the Currency Chests and Small Coin Depots for further
distribution among the public.
25] What is a currency
chest?
To facilitate the distribution of
banknotes and rupee coins, the Reserve Bank has authorised select branches of
scheduled banks to establish Currency Chests. These are actually storehouses
where banknotes and rupee coins are stocked on behalf of the Reserve Bank.
As on June 30, 2006, there were
4428 Currency Chests and
4102 Small Coin Depots.
The currency chest branches are expected
to distribute banknotes and rupee coins to other bank branches in their area of
operation.
Some bank branches are also authorised to
establish Small Coin Depots to stock small coins. The Small Coin Depots also
distribute small coins to other bank branches in their area of operation.
Banknotes and coins returned from
circulation are deposited at the Issue offices of the Reserve Bank.
The Reserve Bank subjects these to
processing, authenticates banknotes
1. for their genuineness,
2. segregates them into notes fit for reissue and
3. those which are not, for cancellation.
The banknotes which are fit for reissue
are sent back in circulation and those which are unfit for reissue are destroyed by way of shredding after completion of
examination process.
Similarly, coins received back from
circulation are either reissued or are sent to the Mints for melting.
Banknotes and coins can be obtained in
exchange at any of the offices of the Reserve Bank and at all the designated
branches of banks.
Cash continues to be the predominant
payment means of transactions in India. A compositional shift is underway in
the form of a gradual replacement of lower denomination banknotes by higher
denomination banknotes, particularly Rs.100 and Rs.500.
Instruments such as cheques, credit and
debit cards, electronic funds transfer are at present supplementing the use of
banknotes and as the use of these gains popularity, the growth rate of the
demand for currency is expected to slow down.
Several steps have
been taken to augment the supply of banknotes and coins. Some of these are:
·
The existing banknote printing presses and the
mints owned by the Government have been modernised.
·
Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (P) Ltd., was
set up as a fully owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India on February 03,
1995. Under its aegis two banknote printing presses with the
state-of-the-art technology, one each at Mysore (Karnataka) and Salboni (West
Bengal), commenced production from June 01, 1996 and December 11, 1996,
respectively.
·
To bridge the demand-supply gap, the Government
had, as a one-time measure, imported banknotes, in the year 1997-98.
·
Government of India had also
imported rupee coins during 2000-2003 to supplement the supply of coins from
the four mints. The overall position of both banknote and coin supply is
comfortable now.
·
The Regional Offices of RBI launched aggressive
campaigns for providing exchange facility to the members of public.
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