841) Shortage of 10 rupee coins in circulation in India: Some steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India to bring more small denomination coins into circulation for user convenience by March 2019:

841) Shortage of 10 rupee coins in circulation in India: Some steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India to bring more small denomination coins into circulation for user convenience by March 2019:

The 10 rupee coins in circulation in India have in recent times, been in woefully short supply. 

This is primarily being attributed to the fact that the procurement of raw materials which are needed to mint the base metal bi-metallic coins has been considerably delayed for various reasons at the coining mints, leaving the Reserve Bank of India with little option but to decrease their orders/indents with the Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL) which controls the India Government Mints - Kolkata, Noida, Mumbai & Noida.

Further compounding the problem is the confusion between the old design Ten Rupee Coins and the new design ones with the Rupee symbol, which led to several users refusing to use any of the two design ten rupee coins,  raising doubts in the minds of users about the genuineness of the coins in circulation.

Take a look at the Reverse of this Rs.10 Coin in my numismatic collection which was issued in 2008,  when the Rupee symbol had not been introduced.  You  will notice that there are 15 "rain drops" or "feathers of a dancing peacock" on the upper section, the numeral "10" in the centre and "Rupaye" (in Hindi) or "Rupees" in English on the lower periphery.

The Obverse of the above Rs.10 Coin depicts the Ashok Capitol emblem in the centre, with the words "Satyamev Jayate" (in Hindi - meaning "Truth will always Prevail") below it. The emblem is placed within two parallel lines. On the upper periphery is the name of the issuing country "Bharat"(in Hindi) and "India" (in English). The year of issue "2008" is at the extreme bottom.

Now take a look at the Reverse of this Rs.10 coin with the Rupee symbol issued in 2017. The number of  "rain drops" or feathers of the dancing peacock have been brought down to 10 (from the earlier 15) in the upper section. To accommodate the rupee symbol the numeral has been moved downwards and is present partially in both the metal sections of the bimetallic alloy.  Definitely a source of confusion for the uninitiated & illiterate users from the earlier design.

Take a look at the Obverse of this Rs.10 coin issued in "2017".  The two parallel lines have disappeared. The name of the issuing country has moved to the left and right peripheries and the Emblem of the Government of India has been enlarged.

So which of the above two coins is a counterfeit. Neither one - as introduction of the rupee symbol and rising costs of minting has necessitated a few changes in the design.

Given the fact that there is an extreme shortage of Rs.10 coins issued in 2018, I was lucky to get at least one - the above coin - issued in this year for my collection. Fortunately for me, this shopkeeper was "getting rid" of his Rs.10 coins, because of the above mentioned confusion  and we were both happy that the coin transfer to me had taken place without a bother.

On 17.01.2018, RBI issued a Press release No. 2017-2018/1950 inter alia mentioning:

"It has come to the notice of the RBI that in certain places there is reluctance on the part of traders and members of public to accept Rs. 10 coins due to suspicion about their genuineness.

It is clarified that the RBI puts into circulation, the coins minted by mints, which are under the Government of India. The coins have distinctive features to reflect various themes of economic, social and cultural values and are introduced from time to time.

As coins have longer life, coins of different designs and shapes circulate in the market at the same time. So far RBI has issued Rs.10 coins in 14 designs and the public has been informed of their distinctive features through Press Releases (list appended). All these coins are legal tender and can be accepted for transactions.

The RBI has also issued a Press release on 20.11.2016 (cautioning the public not to give credence to rumours that the two designs of Rs.10 coins - i.e. one without the Rupee symbol & the other with the Rupee symbol were not genuine) requesting members of the public to continue to accept coins of Rs.10 denomination as legal tender in all their transactions without any hesitation. 

The RBI has also advised banks to accept coins for transactions and exchange at all their branches." 

(This Press Release also contained a list of Rs. 10 coins both commemorative and circulation ones issued from 26.03.2009 onwards till 29.06.2017, with a view to allay the user's apprehension).

Nevertheless, as confusion still reigned in the minds of the users, compounded by the problems of procuring raw materials for producing bi-metallic Rs 10 coins, the RBI had little option, but to decrease their orders from SPMCIL.

This was done to adjust the entire circulation coin plan for India's 2019 fiscal year and raise the demand for smaller denomination coins in lieu of the Rs.10 coins.

As a result the order for 2019 for the 10 rupee denomination coins has been halved from 4.0 billion pieces to two billion pieces.

During 2018 fiscal year too, as against a total of 3.0 billion Rs.10 coins ordered by RBI, only 760 million pieces have been supplied/circulated so far. As per RBI estimates, there are around 5.0 billion pieces of Rs.10 coins already in circulation.

Consequently, in view of the shortfall in the minting of Rs.10 coins, RBI has revised their rupee denominated coin orders to ease the pressure on small denomination coins, in an effort to make up the shortfall of Rs.10 coins, to the undermentioned levels:

10 Rupee bimetallic coins: 4.0 billion pieces decreased to 2.0 billion pieces

5 Rupee coins: 1.0 billion pieces increased to 1,132,000,000 pieces

Two Rupee coins: 113 million pieces increased to 2.0 billion pieces

One Rupee coins: 1,019,000,000 pieces increased to 2.0 billion pieces

The four coin minting units of SPMCIL at Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai & Noida have also been advised to ask their technicians and employees to work 54 hours per week, instead of 44-48 hours from 6.10.2018 to 31.03.2019, for which they will be paid suitable overtime benefits and other allowances as per official notifications in all four mints.

The shortfall of the largest coin denomination (Rs.10) in India follows the crisis of the supply of Banknotes in late 2016, with the withdrawal of the previous series of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 Banknotes and the introduction of a new 2000 rupee Banknote denomination at the same time.

The  Rs.10 coin which was introduced by RBI in 2006 for the first time represented the theme "National Integration" but was withdrawn from circulation as there was a massive out-cry among users that they would not use a coin which represented a "Cross".

The Obverse of this Rs.10 coin  presented the Govt. of India emblem and the numeral 10 in the centre between two parallel lines, with the year of issue "2006" below.

Withdrawal of this bimetallic coin soon after its introduction brought in further confusion among users about the genuineness of later design coins.

The RBI had introduced this circulation type bi-metallic Rs.10 coins in 2006 amid persistently high inflation and circulated this coin with the banknote of the same value. The coin denomination is often used for commemorative purposes with several coins issued since its introduction.

A new generation 10 rupee Banknote in the Mahatma Gandhi "New" Series of Banknotes featuring the Konark Sun Temple on the Reverse has been introduced in January this year (2018). Some of these Banknotes in my collection however, exhibit the year of issue as "2017", which is an aberration on the part of RBI, because the year of issue "2017" is anterior to the date of issue of the RBI Press Notification in January 2018 showing the tremendous pressure the RBI is working under... 

The Front of the new Design Rs.10 Banknote. This Banknote too, like the Rs.10 coins, is in extremely short supply.

The Back of the new design Rs.10 Banknote shows the motif of the Konark Wheel and the year of issue as "2017".

Tail piece: 

Anuj Agarwal, the founder of Feedspot has forwarded to me the following link which includes this blog among the top 75 internet sites across the globe, more specifically at the no. 20 spot, as per the list prepared by his panelist, which can be visited at the following link:


http://blog.feedspot.com/coin_blogs/

Thank you, Anuj.