General Awareness: BRBNMPL, the RBI and Note Production
General Awareness in the BRBNMPL Online Test is not a wide general-knowledge sweep. It concentrates on three clusters: BRBNMPL as an organisation, the RBI and banking framework it sits inside, and the currency-production chain that turns paper and ink into issued notes.
The company
- Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited was incorporated in 1995 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, with its registered office in Bengaluru.
- It operates two banknote presses: Mysuru in Karnataka and Salboni in Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal.
- It prints banknotes only. Coins are minted by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), which also runs the Nashik and Dewas note presses.
Currency framework
- Section 22 of the RBI Act, 1934 gives the RBI the sole right to issue banknotes; Section 24 deals with denominations. The ₹1 note is issued by the Government of India, not the RBI.
- Since 1957 the RBI has followed the minimum reserve system.
- Mahatma Gandhi New Series notes carry intaglio printing, a windowed security thread, micro-lettering, a latent image and colour-shift ink.
Banking essentials
- The RBI began operations on 1 April 1935 and was nationalised in 1949.
- Fourteen major banks were nationalised in 1969 and six more in 1980.
- DICGC insures each depositor up to ₹5 lakh per bank.
Worked example
Question: Which activity is outside BRBNMPL's mandate? (a) printing ₹500 notes at Mysuru (b) printing ₹200 notes at Salboni (c) minting ₹10 coins (d) supplying printed notes to the RBI. Reasoning: BRBNMPL is a note-printing subsidiary; coin minting belongs to SPMCIL. Answer: (c).
Traps
- Swapping BRBNMPL with SPMCIL - they are different organisations with different presses.
- Assuming the RBI mints coins; it issues coins on behalf of the Government but does not manufacture them.
- Missing that the ₹1 note is a Government of India liability.