- The Central government informed the Delhi High Court it has no plans to introduce Rs 50 coins at present.
- A 2022 RBI survey found people prefer banknotes to coins for Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations
- Rs 50 note lacks tactile features for visually impaired, unlike other currency denominations
The Central government has informed the Delhi High Court it has no plans to introduce Rs 50 coins at present, citing public preference for using banknotes over coins, especially for Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations.
A petition was filed earlier seeking issuance of Rs 50 coins to make it more accessible to the visually impaired. The petitioners said they had conducted a study on the challenges faced by visually impaired citizens due to the design of currency notes.
Replying to the petition, the Department of Economic Affairs of the Union Finance Ministry said that a survey conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had shown that the public finds it inconvenient to use coins due to their weight and similarity in sizes across denominations.
The reply said: "With regard to the feasibility of introducing a Rs 50 coin, it is submitted that the RBI conducted a survey in 2022 to analyse the usage patterns of existing coins and banknotes in circulation. The findings revealed a preference for banknotes over coins for the Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations."
The survey, said RBI, indicated that the public is currently more inclined towards using banknotes rather than coins in the Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations.
"Any decision to introduce a Rs 50 coin would depend on several factors including requirement of the economy, degree of public acceptance etc., in addition to the concerns of the visually impaired persons. At present, no proposal regarding the introduction of a Rs 50 coin is under consideration by the Department," the Centre told the High Court.
The petition also stated that while Rs 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 100, Rs 200, Rs 500, and Rs 2,000 currency notes are designed to be accessible to visually impaired persons, the Rs 50 note lacks such features.
Responding to the petitioners, the Centre said that identification marks in the form of raised printing are not present in the Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 50 denominations of the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series.
"According to the RBI, the reintroduction of intaglio printing in lower denomination notes was found to be unfeasible, as the tactile effect of such printing tends to erode more rapidly due to the high frequency of handling," the reply stated.
It added that the reintroduction of intaglio printing - a printmaking technique that uses variations of scratching, cutting or incising to create images - in these denominations would largely affect the cost and efficiency of currency production.
The Centre further said that RBI had launched a mobile application called MANI (Mobile Aided Note Identifier) in 2020 to aid visually impaired persons to identify the denomination of banknotes.
