SHILLONG, Nov 20 - The RBI has confirmed that new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 currencies don�t have electronic tracking chip installed in it, but possibilities of having other security features to track these currencies are more real than ever before.
In an exclusive interview with The Assam Tribune, AK Sinha, former Director in Directorate of Printing, Government of India, said: �embedding tracking security features in currencies can be done.�
Sinha was also a former security printing technologist at the Currency Note Press, Nashik, Maharashtra. �We don�t need an electronic chip to track the currencies, there are several other features that can identify the note and even track,� Sinha said.
There were reports in the social media that the new currencies notes come embedded with Nano GPS chips. These reports went to exaggerate that the currencies could be tracked if kept inside 200 feet deep hole, until the RBI rubbished the reports.
Refusing to confirm whether such a tracking feature is present in the new currencies, Sinha reiterated �anything is possible� and people can make an educated guess on the matter.
Citing some technologies available in the market, he said, holograms are being used to check not just the authenticity of the products, but also to track products.
A single hologram could have over 300 security features and several layers, which are extremely difficult to duplicate, he said.
Some of the holograms used in passports, stamp papers and postage stamps are nothing but security features to check their authenticity and also prevent duplication.
�A few States are using these holograms on the products such as liquor bottles to check their movement and also stop financial leakages. But these holograms have fewer security features, nowhere close to 300,� Sinha added.
Sinha further mentioned about �disruptive technology� applications like Mojo Tags, which can read invisible images, codes and tags embedded into product campaigns or products.
Scanning the invisible code, image or tag with the mobile phone would take the customer to a landing page or website with more information.
Sinha said that security features were kept in mind during paper manufacturing and during printing of the new currency notes. Sinha said five types of printing technologies were used in the new currency notes that included Intaglio, Offset, Letterhead, Digital and Gravure.
�As the notes were printed using the Intaglio printing, some ink may come out if washed. But the paper is water resistant,� Sinha added.
According to him some of the best quality paper is made from cotton and a host of other materials.
Asked if the new currency could be duplicated, Sinha said, it would be extremely difficult for counterfeiters to do it soon. �Nothing is impossible, but to counterfeit the notes with all the features in it would take a good number of years,� he added.