Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Sanjay Malhotra while speaking in the press conference after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting last week said that the currency notes made of plastic polymer will be in circulation from the next financial year. While he said that the proposal is still at a pilot stage, he didn’t reveal a month or a date by when the government will launch these plastic notes.The question about the timeframe of the introduction of polymer currency notes was raised in Parliament today (Tuesday, August 11, 2026). Neeraj Shekhar, member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, asked whether the government/RBI proposes to introduce plastic currency note, and if yes, what can be the timeframe for the introduction of the said currency notes.Replying to the starred question by Shekhar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance, said that the RBI had sent a proposal to the government for introducing one billion pieces each of Rs 10 and Rs 20 polymer banknotes for field trials and for the regular issuance of polymer banknotes in these two denominations after the successful completion of field trials.“The proposal has been approved by the Government. As per the RBI, these polymer banknotes are proposed to be issued along with paper substrate-based banknotes,” says Sitharaman.Sitharaman further says that the procurement of plastic notes is at an initial stage and it won’t be possible to announce a launch date.“The RBI has informed that the procurement process is presently at an initial stage. Therefore, at this point of time, it would not be possible to practicably determine the exact timeframe for the introduction of polymer banknotes or the expenditure likely to be incurred thereon,” says Sitharaman.What did RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra say about plastic currency note circulation?After the MPC, Malhotra had that the RBI would test, check as to how polymer currency notes perform in Indian climate conditions and other infrastructure the central bank has put in place."Thereafter, we will see if we need to further scale it up as it is or with changes,” the RBI governor said.Malhotra said that the RBI is targeting that polymer notes are in circulation, if everything goes as planned, in the beginning of the next financial year.What are plastic polymer notes?Plastic polymer notes are banknotes that are made from a thin, flexible synthetic plastic material instead of traditional cotton paper. These polymer notes feel and fold much like paper note, but last two to four times longer. Polymer notes can resist water and dirt and may contain advanced transparent security windows.Are there some countries that use polymer currency notes?Polymer notes were first introduced in Australia in 1988. New Zealand followed in Australia's footsteps, while Romania became the first country in Europe to such notes.Russia, China, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Taiwan are some other countries that use or have had polymer currency notes.
