Intaglio Printing Errors Behind ‘Missing Gandhi’ in Rs 2K Notes?

RBI is allegedly ignoring goof-ups in notes so that the task of printing of notes is not hit, reports Chandan Nandy

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the faulty printing of an unknown number of the new Rs 2,000 notes that were produced without MK Gandhi’s face, even as RBI sources said that the error was caused in the intaglio printing process.

The faulty notes were found at the State Bank of India’s Shivpuri Road branch in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh. Although the branch said on Wednesday that the faulty notes were printed at the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd’s (SPMCIL) Dewas press, it is learnt that the Salboni and Mysuru presses where the bulk of the Rs 2,000 notes were printed are under the RBI’s scanner.

Also Read: Modi’s Clueless Aides Are the Villains, Not the New Currency Notes

SPMCIL sources admitted that “for a short while” Rs 2,000 notes were printed at the Dewas Bank Note Press, but their production shifted to the Salboni and Mysuru presses, managed by the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Pvt Ltd, in October last year because these two presses were modern.

Sources at the Salboni press told The Quint that a “major error” in the intaglio printing stage of the five-stage process of banknote printing “appears to be the most proximate cause for the goof-up”. The Quint had earlier reported that undue haste in printing the high-value Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes, even by skipping a couple of stages, was being followed at the Salboni, Mysuru, Dewas and Nashik presses.

SPMCIL sources had earlier revealed to The Quint that the “colour examination” step in the five-stage process involving printing of the new Rs 500 notes was deliberately skipped because of the huge pressure that the press was faced with since production of the particular high-denomination note began in late October. Skipping this vital stage when banknotes are examined midway through the printing process leaves the notes vulnerable to counterfeiting.

This is the second time that major defects have been spotted on the new notes. A couple of weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation announcement on 8 November, as many as ten embarrassing errors were spotted on the new Rs 500 notes in Bangalore.

Also Read: Printing of Rs 100 Notes Stalled as Focus on Rs 2,000 and Rs 500

While it is suspected that millions of these defective notes, both in the Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 series, were printed, the RBI has declared them legal tender. RBI sources said they suspect that about 100 million defective Rs 500 notes were printed at the Dewas and Nashik presses before they went into circulation.

While the previous errors in the Rs 500 notes were the result of insufficient time given for smooth and flawless printing, the defect in the Rs 2,000 notes discovered in Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh could be attributed to machine non-detection.

The RBI authorities do not seem to be very concerned with these errors and goof-ups and are brushing the printing issues under the carpet so that the huge task of printing of millions of notes is not hampered. There is no accountability and fixing of responsibility.

SPMCIL Official

What is, however, surprising is that even as the rush involved in printing and dispatching the notes has been happening at “great speed”, banks too seem to be failing to detect the errors. Freshly printed cash is being sent directly from the presses to the RBI’s and state-run bank chests. But the new high-value notes are not being subjected to any strict examination and checks even at the bank branches.