Bureau of Indian Standards steps in to check the march of fake currencies

The integer satellite is progressively up against the counterfeit. ‘Fake news’ is ubiquitous. AI-generated images and voices adhd a deadly magnitude to it, making it challenging to sift world from a malicious practice of it. But the satellite has ever been threatened by the counterfeit, having had to conflict assorted forms of it offline, 1 of it being counterfeit currency oregon fake currency.

Did you cognize that successful presumption of circulation, Rs. 500 rules the roost, and that this denomination accounts for the maximum fig of fake currencies? According to Reserve Bank of India’s yearly report, 85.5% of the stock of currency successful circulation is ruled by ₹500 notes which besides accounts for the maximum fake currency.

To combat the circulation of fake currencies and besides bring uniformity and information into currency transactions, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), successful collaboration with the RBI, has introduced IS 18663:2024, an Indian Standard for Note Sorting Machines.

“More than 2.29 lakh fake currency was detected successful the conscionable concluded fiscal year, and astir 95 per cent of this was from non-RBI banks oregon Non Banking Financial Company,” says Sailendra Kumar Verma, Scientist-C/ Deputy Director, Ghaziabad Branch Office of BIS, explaining the concern that necessitated this move.

What does the modular do?

IS 18663:2024 lays down the minimum functional show and information benchmarks for machines utilized to process, authenticate and benignant cash. These precocious machines are designed to automatically classify idiosyncratic banknotes and segregate them into chiseled categories without immoderate manual intervention.

So whenever a fiscal instauration feeds notes into the machine, it authenticates based connected the criteria fixed by RBI. Once it passes this trial it goes to the fittingness criteria.

The Central Laboratory of BIS, located successful Sahibabad, is said to beryllium the lone authorised laboratory for show investigating of Note Sorting Machines, arsenic recognised by RBI.

Here, investigating is carried retired for 2 parameters: show and safety.

G. Bhavani, Scientist-F, Senior Director and Head, BIS Ghaziabad Branch Office, which precocious conducted a Manak Manthan programme connected Note Sorting Machines, says 5 home and 4 planetary manufacturers person got the licence for making these machines.

Says Bhavani, “All these years, we did not person a instrumentality made successful India, truthful to cheque counterfeit currency RBI came up with this mandate. BIS certification is mandatory for immoderate Note Sorting Machine deployed by Indian banks from May 1, 2025.”