Rs 100 notes easy to counterfeit: Intel

Mukesh Ranjan
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 17

With over a lakh fake notes in the denomination of Rs 100 detected in the banking system during the first six months of this year, sources in the intelligence agency claimed that those involved in the business of counterfeiting Indian currencies are finding it difficult to copy security features of the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes.

The sources said analysis of freshly minted fake Indian currency notes (FICNs) in the denominations of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 detected in the banking channel this year revealed that they are of bad quality and can be detected very easily.

However, Rs 100 notes are more vulnerable to be counterfeited, sources said, the intelligence agencies have sent a note to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggesting it to incorporate more sophisticated security features while printing the paper currency and has asked the banking regulator to put in place more stringent counterfeit detection systems at banks. 

Giving details about the detection of counterfeit currencies, a senior intelligence official said, “During the first six months of this year, a little over 1.13 lakh fake notes in denominations of Rs 100, at least 12,000 notes of the new Rs 2,000 denomination and 8,000 notes of the Rs 500 denomination were detected by banks. But Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes were not of good quality.”

As per the agencies, at least six districts bordering Bangladesh have become important transit points for pushing fake currency into India, as the operators have been using cash couriers across the border. “Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Murshidabad in West Bengal and Dhubri and Barpeta in Assam have become hotspots with as many as 150 FIRs have been filed against smugglers of fake currency,” an official said.