Government of India and Reserve Bank of India are Jointly responsible for the design, production and overall management of the nation’s currency and its circulation.
In this article, we are not discussing Banking Law. We are discussing the Law pertaining to issuance, circulation, withdrawal, and valuation of Indian Currency( paper) and metal coins. We shall not overlook the Digitization of money and its convertibility , and then emergence of Bitcoins or cryptocurrency.
- The Government of India is the issuing authority of coins and supplies coins to the Reserve Bank on demand. The Reserve Bank puts the coins into circulation on behalf of the Central Government.
The Statutes
An Act to consolidate the laws relating to coinage and the Mints, the protection of coinage and to provide for the prohibition of melting or destruction of coins and prohibit the making or the possession thereof for issue and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Comparative study
Currency Act 1965(Australia)
The monetary unit, or unit of currency, of Australia, is the dollar. The denominations of money in the currency of Australia are the dollar and the cent.
CURRENCY ACT 1968 ( Singapore)
Currency means currency notes and coins which are legal tender in Singapore. The unit of currency of Singapore shall be the Singapore dollar, which shall be divided into 100 cents. All monetary obligations or transactions in Singapore shall be deemed to be expressed and recorded, and shall be settled in the Singapore dollar unless otherwise provided for by law or validly agreed upon between the parties.
Money and finance (31 U.S. Code § 5103) [USA]
United States money is expressed in dollars, dimes or tenths, cents or hundredths, and mills or thousandths. A dime is a tenth of a dollar, a cent is a hundredth of a dollar, and a mill is a thousandth of a dollar. United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tenders for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts. The Secretary of the Treasury shall mint and issue coins described in section 5112 of this title in amounts the Secretary decides are necessary to meet the needs of the United States. United States coins shall have the inscription ‘‘In God We Trust’’. The obverse side of each coin shall have the inscription ‘‘Liberty’.The coins minted under this title shall be legal tender, as provided in section 5103.