RBI Acknowledges Enormous Challenge in Making Currency Visually Impaired Friendly, Informs Bombay High Court
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) informed the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the task of replacing crores of currency notes with new notes to enhance accessibility for the visually impaired would be a monumental challenge, potentially rendering it unfeasible.
During the court proceedings, Senior Advocate Venkatesh Dhond, representing RBI, submitted a committee report containing recommendations for currency changes. He highlighted that altering the currency posed significant difficulties. Dhond pointed out that, according to Section 25 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, any necessary measures required approval from the Central government.
Dhond elaborated, stating, "When committees suggest that you must have a phased, time-bound method by which you will remove confusing currency and replacing the committee has not even considered the enormity of this task. The total currency in circulation is 33,48,228 crores worth of currency and 13,621.37 crores of notes in numbers."
The committee's report emphasized that currency notes issued after demonetization were nearly indistinguishable in size, making it impossible to differentiate them effectively. The committee proposed several suggestions, including increasing the size of notes proportionally to improve recognition, strengthening identification features, exploring sustainable materials like plastic currency with tactile markings, and considering money apps to enhance accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
Dhond emphasized the need to assess the feasibility of the report's recommendations concerning currency changes. He noted that blind persons associations in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad had considered these recommendations. Dhond emphasized that the process would not be as user-friendly as some might suggest, highlighting the extensive task of reprinting and circulating crores of rupees.
The Bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Arif Doctor, granted RBI time to review the report and scheduled the next hearing for July 19. The case originated from a public interest litigation filed in 2019 by the National Association for the Blind (NAB), asserting that the physical features of new currency notes issued by RBI hindered identification for visually impaired individuals.
Dhond mentioned that a similar petition before the Delhi High Court led to RBI forming an expert committee, which would soon submit a report. NAB counsel Dr Uday Warunjikar requested the Bombay High Court to obtain the report in the ongoing petition. Consequently, the report was presented before the Bench on June 21.
TAGS: Reserve Bank of India Bombay High Court currency notes visually impaired friendly enormous task RBI Act committee report suggestions currency change size of notes identification features phased timeline sustainable materials tactile markings money apps feasibility blind persons associations public interest litigation National Association for the Blind physical features Delhi High Court expert committee hearing report.
