Note ban: India to import 20,000 tons of currency paper to meet frantic currency demand

Cash crunch: 20,000 tonnes of currency paper to be imported soon, 9 firms on radar

 

New Delhi: The government is looking at importing 20,000 tons of currency paper from around 9 foreign firms, and meeting the demand for printing new notes following demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8.

The currency paper import order will be much more than 8,000 ton imported over the current year so far.

As per the Indian Express report, a high-volume limited tender for the same is expected to be issued, possibly as early as next week. In the normal printing cycle, there would have been sufficient banknote paper stock until mid-2017. But the frantic pace of printing of replacement currency, following the demonetisation move, has hastened the decision to import.

The report added that while the consumption of currency paper in India over the last few years has been in the range of 25,000 tonnes annually, almost 18,000 tonnes are now manufactured at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) presses.

Officials of the Finance Ministry and Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL) said that the order may be shared by around nine foreign firms who have obtained security clearance from the Home Ministry, added the report.

They include Landquart from Switzerland, Komsco from South Korea; PWPW from Poland; Arjowiggins from France; Crane from Sweden; Goznak from Russia; PT Pura from Indonesia; Fabriano from Italy and Louisenthal from Germany.