Printing of Indian currency has China connection; Ind refutes claims

New Delhi: India has refuted the Chinese media report claiming that China has been given a contract to print the Indian currency notes.

"Reports about any Chinese currency printing corporation getting any orders for printing Indian currency notes are totally baseless. Indian currency notes are being & will be printed only in Indian Govt & RBI currency presses," said Subash Chandra Garg, Secy, Dept of Economic Affairs.

The South China Morning Post, a Chinese financial news publication, has reported that a Chinese state-owned company, China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, has been contracted to print large quantities of international currencies including that of India.

The report states that in 2013, Beijing launched the belt and road plan which involved 60 countries from Asia, Europe and Africa to stimulate economic growth.

The President of the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, Liu Guisheng, was quoted as saying that his company has since then "successfully won contracts for currency production projects in a number of countries including Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, India, Brazil and Poland."

The report in Chinese media has raised several eyebrows in the Indian political circles, calling it a national threat. Taking note of the development, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor expressed fears that it could make it easier for Pakistan to counterfeit notes and "could have disturbing national security implications".

The AAP government on Monday sought a clarification from the Centre terming it as a "big threat to India's national security" and "financial sovereignty" and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi why this information was not available in the public domain.

"What were the reasons behind approaching a foreign firm instead of assigning someone domestically? Was India approached by China, and did we succumb to pressure from them in their bid to increase their global influence?" AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha asked.

Some governments reportedly have asked Beijing "not to publicise the deal because they are worried such information could compromise national security or trigger unnecessary debates at home."

The report claims that despite domestic currency demand being at its lowest, China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation has been "functioning at full capacity to deliver on international contracts".

It also states that while there was not much work until last year, there has been a sudden jump in production.