# Government approves one billion plastic banknotes for trial

2026-08-12T03:46:56+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 3 independent outlets

The government has approved the introduction of one billion polymer banknotes each of ₹10 and ₹20 for field trials, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of India had proposed the move under Section 25 of the RBI Act, 1934. The polymer notes will be issued alongside existing paper notes, the minister said, but added that the procurement process is at an initial stage, so no timeline or cost can be given yet. Separately, Sitharaman said the 56th GST Council meeting had rationalised rates on many goods and services from 28% to 18%, and from 18% to 5% or nil, with no increase in overall tax burden. The finance minister also noted that average retail inflation has declined from 5.4% in 2023-24 to 2.1% in 2025-26, though it rose to 3.9% in Q1 of 2026-27 due to global energy prices and seasonal vegetable price spikes.

## Coverage

- thehindu.com <https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/government-approves-introduction-of-one-billion-polymer-banknotes-of-10-and-20/article71333495.ece>
- deccanherald.com <https://www.deccanherald.com/business/govt-approves-plastic-notes-of-rs-10-and-rs-20-on-trial-basis-4107623>
- livemint.com <https://www.livemint.com/industry/banking/rbi-polymer-notes-atm-cassette-cost-banks-india-11786432619667.html>

This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-09-27T06:10:38+00:00.

Tags: currency trial, Nirmala Sitharaman, polymer banknotes, RBI, ₹10 and ₹20 notes
Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/government-approves-one-billion-plastic-banknotes-for-trial/
License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources.
Cite: https://indianopinion.org/government-approves-one-billion-plastic-banknotes-for-trial/#story-in-brief

Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.

How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/