As per the latest reports, the Reserve Bank of India and the Finance Ministry are looking to print the watermark figures of APJ Abdul Kalam and Rabindranath Tagore on new banknotes of some denominations.
At present, the currency notes contain the printing image of the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. His image was introduced on the banknotes for the first time in the year 1969, on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary.
In alliance with the security printing and Minting Corporation of India, RBI has sent two separate sets of samples of Gandhi, Kalam and Tagore watermarks to IIT-Delhi professor Dilip T Shahani. He has to choose one from the two sets and present them for final consideration by the central government.
Sources say that the final decision on selecting one or all the three samples will be taken at the highest level. This is the first time RBI thinking about using images of famous personalities other than Mahatma Gandhi on the currency notes.
APJ Abdul Kalam, who is the 11th president of India, is also known as the Missile Man, while Rabindranath Tagore is a Nobel Laureate and is remembered as one of the greatest icons in the country.