The Department of Currency Management has the responsibility of administering the functions of currency management, a core function of the Reserve Bank in terms of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Currency management essentially relates to issue of notes and coins and retrieval of unfit notes from circulation. This work is performed through 18 issue offices of the Reserve Bank and a wide network of 4195 currency chests, 488 repositories and 3562 small coin depots managed by banks and Government treasuries.

Organisational Setup

The Department of Currency Management (DCM) is headed by a Chief General Manager. The Department has planning division; resource management and remittance of treasure division; note processing and data analysis division; note exchange division; currency chest division; security and discipline cell; inspection follow-up, co-ordination and development division; staff cell, administration division; and forged note vigilance cell and the museum cell.

The Department receives notes from four currency note printing presses. Two of the currency note printing presses are owned by the Government of India and two are owned by the Reserve Bank, through its wholly owned subsidiary, the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Ltd. (BRBNML). The government owned presses are at Nasik (Western India) and Dewas (Central India). The other two presses are at Mysore (Southern India) and Salboni (Eastern India). Coins are minted in four mints owned by the Government of India. The mints are located at Mumbai, Hyderabad, Calcutta and NOIDA.

Functions

The Department addresses policy and operational issues relating to :

• designing of banknotes,
• forecasting demand for notes and coins,
• ensuring smooth distribution of banknotes and coins throughout the country and retrieval of unfit notes and uncurrent coins from circulation,
• ensuring the integrity of bank notes,
• administering the RBI (Note Refund) Rules,
• reviewing/rationalising the work systems/procedures at the issue offices on an ongoing basis and
• dissemination of information on currency related matters to the general public.

The Department also co-ordinates the Bank's endeavour to set up a Monetary Museum in Mumbai. As a precursor to the Monetary Museum, it has already placed a virtual monetary museum on the RBI site (www.museum.rbi.org.in).

Monetary Museum
Contemporary Currency
Security Features
FAQs

For any queries relating to currency and coins, please write to : The Chief General Manager, Department of Currency, Reserve Bank of India, Central Office, Central Office Building, 21st Floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Fort, Mumbai-400 001. (Tel.: 2660005, Fax : 2662442).