According to the reports, the Reserve Bank of India and the Finance Ministry are considering using the watermark figures of APJ Abdul Kalam and Rabindranath Tagore on a new series of banknotes of some denominations.
Currently, the notes that are in use feature the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was featured on Indian currency notes for the first time in 1969 in honor of his 100th birth celebrations.
Reportedly, the RBI, in association with the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India, has sent two separate sets of samples of Gandhi, Kalam, and Tagore watermarks to IIT-Delhi Professor Dilip T Shahani. He has been given the job of choosing from the two sets and presenting them for final consideration by the central government.
This will be the first time RBI is thinking about using images of famous personalities other than Mahatma Gandhi on the currency notes.
The sources say that the final decision on selecting one or all the three samples will be taken at the “highest level.”
APJ Abdul Kalam, India’s 11th President, is also known as the Missile Man, while Rabindranath Tagore is a Nobel Laureate and is remembered as one of India’s greatest icons.
