RBI unveils plan to better coin supply management

After ushering in a clean-note policy, the Reserve Bank of India has embarked on yet another project that will see surplus coins in a dozen-odd prime temple towns moved to the coin-starved state road transport corporations and post-offices across the country.

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This move is aimed at ensuring that the central bank doesn't have to mint new coins even as huge stocks lie in banks' currency chests or, circulate only in the surplus areas.

"We are looking at an engineering (mechanical) solution, whereby the surfeit of coins collected at major temple towns across the length and breadth of the country are put through hoopers, sorted with the help of sieves, aggregated into bags according to denominations and sealed for delivery," Vepa Kamesam, RBI deputy governor said.

RBI has made a small beginning for supplying coins to the Himachal Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, the Calcutta Tramway and the Department of Posts in three states, including Maharashtra.

The RBI proposes to give coins only to the state public sector undertakings like road transport corporations/central PSUs and the department of posts.

This is with a view to prevent private parties from selling the bags containing coins at a premium in the open market.

To push the coins into the deficit areas, the central bank will pay the entity taking up the coins a commission of Rs 2.50 per bag to cover the holding, security, and transportion costs etc.

The RBI is seeking to source the coins from a dozen major pilgrim destinations including the Vaisho Devi shrine in Katra, the Golden Temple in Amritsar to Tirupati/Sabarimala in the South.