All of us are aware of the coin scarcity we face in our country. There were some jokes shared in Facebook which says , "RBI should declare eclairs as 50 paise" , which means the shop owners started giving chocolates back instead of changes. Each year over all crores of rupee coins are coming to the Indian economy through RBI. But where are they going?
Some Facts:
The responsibility for coinage vests with the Government of India in terms of the Coinage Act, 1906 as amended from time to time. The designing and minting of coins in various denominations is also the responsibility of the Government of India. The coins are issued for circulation only through the Reserve Bank in terms of the RBI Act.
Coins are minted at the four India Government Mints at Mumbai, Alipore(Kolkata), Saifabad(Hyderabad), Cherlapally (Hyderabad) and NOIDA (UP).
Coins in India are presently being issued in denominations of 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees,five rupees and ten 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.
But where are they disappearing?
Disappearance of currencies belonging to small denominations like Re 1, Rs 2 & Rs 5, from the state has opened up a host of problems for businessmen, especially small-time traders and common man together.
There are lots of factors which adds up to the coin scarcity.
Recently, The Reserve Bank of India has lodged a complaint with the Kolkata police about the disappearance of small change from the market and underlined the need for investigating the reason for it. Following this, the Kolkata police have come up with a startling find: coins are now being melted by some groups to make shaving blades. It is apparently yielding better profits.
There were also shocking revelations that one rupee coins are perfectly fit for making steel washers which actually cost more than three rupees. SO these 1 rupee coins are collected by paying 2 rupees and used to save 1 rupee by making the 3 rupee washers!
Role Of religious organizations
Offering boxes are one of the common thing in any religious organizations like temples, church and mosques. These offering boxes are opened once a year and counted and collected. So think about this, a coin is put on Jan 1st into an offering box and this coming back to market in next year again!
Remember each small village in India having a total of ten such organizations minimum.
This is one thing which government has to take some action. Government can pass a resolution to take out money from offering boxes once in at least three months to reduce the coin scarcity.
New initiatives for coin distribution
There are some steps taken by RBI to tackle this.
Coin Dispensing Machines have been installed at select Regional Offices of the Reserve Bank on pilot basis.
Dedicated Single-window counters have been opened in several of the Reserve Bank's offices for issuing coins of different denominations packed in pouches.
Mobile counters are being organized by the Reserve Bank in commercial and other important areas of the town where soiled notes can be exchanged for coins.
Informative:)
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