Key facts
- A viral social media claim that India's RBI will replace paper currency with plastic notes from June 30, 2026, has been declared fake by the PIB Fact Check team.
- The RBI has made no official announcement regarding the withdrawal or replacement of paper currency notes with plastic ones.
- The central bank is currently examining the pros and cons of introducing polymer currency notes, a proposal that is in its preliminary stages.
- Currently, Indian banknotes are manufactured using 100% cotton paper.
A viral claim circulating on social media suggesting that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to replace all paper currency notes with plastic ones starting June 30, 2026, has been officially debunked by the Press Information Bureau's (PIB) Fact Check team. The PIB clarified that the RBI has made no such announcement and urged the public to disregard and not share unverified information.
However, in a separate development, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra indicated that the introduction of polymer currency notes is indeed under consideration. Addressing the media after a Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Malhotra stated that the central bank is examining the advantages and disadvantages of polymer notes, but emphasized that the idea is in its preliminary stages with no final decision made.
Currently, the paper used for printing banknotes in India is made from 100% cotton. The RBI's standard practice when introducing new designs is that both old and new notes circulate together for a period before older notes are gradually withdrawn as they become unfit for reissue.