No proposal to introduce ₹50 coin, people prefer using notes: Central govt to Delhi High Court

The Central government has told the Delhi High Court that at present, there exists no proposal to introduce a ₹50 coin in the market, as the public has shown preference for using banknotes over existing coins in ₹10 and ₹20 denominations.

The Department of Economic Affairs of the Union Ministry of Finance made the statement in a response filed on Tuesday to a plea seeking directions for issuance of ₹50 coins.

"With regard to the feasibility of introducing a ₹50 coin, it is submitted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted a survey in 2022 to analyze the usage patterns of existing coins and banknotes in circulation. The findings revealed a preference for banknotes over coins for the ₹10 and ₹20 denominations," it told the Court.

The reply also reveals that the survey respondents had identified the weight and size of coins, particularly the similarity in size across denominations, as significant impediments to the usage of coins.

The decision to introduce a circulation coin of a particular denomination depends on multiple factors, including the public's readiness to accept the coin and the frequency of its use in everyday transactions, the reply stated.

"As indicated by the Reserve Bank of India's survey, the public currently shows a preference for banknotes over coins in the ₹10 and ₹20 denominations. Therefore, any decision to introduce a ₹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 introduction of a ₹50 coin is under consideration by the Department."

The petitioners had submitted that they had conducted a study on the distress and inequalities faced by visually impaired citizens due to the design of currency notes.

The Court was told that while ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10, ₹20, ₹100, ₹200, ₹500, and ₹2,000 currency notes are designed to be accessible to visually impaired persons, the ₹50 note lacks such features.

"The ₹50 note does not contain any intaglio printing or tactile markings, thereby rendering it inaccessible to visually impaired individuals and leaving no effective substitute in circulation," the plea before the Court said.

In response, the Centre has said that identification marks in the form of raised (intaglio) printing are not present in the ₹10, ₹20 and ₹50 denominations of the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series.

"According to the Reserve Bank of India (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. Given that lower denomination notes circulate more extensively, the deterioration of tactile features over time is more pronounced. Moreover, the reintroduction of intaglio printing in these denominations would have significant implications on both the cost and efficiency of currency production," the reply states.

However, it adds 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.