RBI sets up portal to help identify genuine currency

The Reserve Bank of India has started a web portal to spread awareness about counterfeit currency notes and ways to identify them.

The website, www.paisaboltahai.rbi.org.in [1], graphically demonstrates and describes the security features installed on currency notes of all available denominations. The interactive website calls for the public to correctly identify and scrutinise currency notes making use of the security features through the tagline, “Pehchano paise ki boli kyunki paisa bolta hai.”

The number of fake notes detected has increased over the past few years with a corresponding increase in the total number of notes in circulation. Banks detected 4,35,607 fake notes in 2010-11. Most counterfeit notes are found in denominations of 100 and 500. At the same time, they are also the most circulated. The RBI also said on the website that it was addressing the menace by periodically improving the security features of the notes and directing banks to use Note Sorting Machines.