Despite being legal tender, Rs 10 coin finds few takers

Even though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has clarified that Rs 10 coin are legal and are in circulation, confusion prevails among traders and citizens over its legality. Thus, traders and people are reluctant to accept the coins. Owing to rules, even banks decline to accept the coins in bulk.

Chandru, a vendor near Aishwarya Petrol bunk in the city, said, people do not accept the coins and suspect its legality. “Earlier, I used to accept the coins, but, now, even I stopped accepting Rs 10 coin as people are not ready to transact with it. I used to deposit the coins in the bank. But, the bank officials are not ready to accept the coins in bulk. So, now, I don’t want to take a risk," he said.

A cashier at a petrol bunk said, a large number of customers used to bring the coins to us for exchange or for payment for fuel. “Earlier, we used to accept them. But, as the banks are reluctant to receive them in bulk, we have stopped accepting the coins. We will accept one or two coins but not more than that,” he said.

Anand Kumar, a resident of Vijayanagar, said, the bank officials should conduct drives to bring the coins into circulation. "If the coins are not in circulation despite being legal, what is the purpose of minting them? It is a lapse on the part of the bank authorities. The people and traders are the victims. What will they do with the coins they have already accepted?" he asked.

Mysuru City and District Hotel Owners Association president C Narayanagowda said, the district currency chest has been issuing them a large quantity of Rs 10 coin in exchange for higher denomination currency. "We need Re 1 and Rs 2 coin, but, as a large quantity of coins are being deposited in banks, the authorities are supplying them to hotels. So, it is a problem of plenty. What will we do with so many coins of the same denomination, as people are also reluctant to accept coins due to their weight?" he asked.

According to the bank authorities, people are unaware of the legality of the Rs 10 denomination coins. Hence, there is a need for awareness drives to educate the people, said a bank manager, who wished to maintain anonymity.

As the confusion over the Rs 10 coin continues among the citizens, Vijaya Bank, SR Road Branch, had organised a ‘Coin Mela’, a day-long programme, to promote the use of the coins at the Mysuru Railway Station in the city in July.

The programme aimed at creating awareness among the people to clear the confusion over the use of coins. As rumours are doing the rounds that the coins are invalid and they are not in circulation, many people, including vendors, decline to accept the coins.

Chief Manager of the Lead Bank, Venkatachalapathy, confirmed that Rs 10 coin are legal and are very much in circulation. "People need not worry about the legality of the currency. Banks have no provision to accept bulk amounts of coins. Thus the banks reject the coins. The coins are meant for circulation. If the coins are kept in the treasury, it will not serve the purpose,” he said.