To Flag off the First Consignment of ₹ 1000/- Bank Note Paper; SPMCIL Sets-Up Another Joint Venture Company Called Bank Note Paper Mill India Pvt. Ltd. at Mysore with 12,000 MT Capacity; Combined Production from the new Paper Line at SPM, Hoshangabad and the Joint Venture Company at Mysore after Commissioning will be About 18,000 MT of Bank Note Paper and will Lead to Combined Savings of Foreign Exchange from These Two Bank Note Projects of About ₹ 1,500 Crore in the coming Years

The Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Shri Arun Jaitley will inaugurate the New Bank Note Paper Line of 6000 MT capacity tomorrow at Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh. He will also flag off the first consignment of ₹ 1,000 Bank Note paper made indigenously to Currency Note Press, Nashik at Security Paper Mill, Hoshangabad in the august presence of Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh and other dignitaries. This New Paper Line of 6,000 MT capacity is part of the indigenisation, of the Bank Note paper, under taken by Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL). SPMCIL has also set-up another Joint Venture Company called Bank Note Paper Mill India Pvt. Ltd. at Mysore with 12,000 MT capacity. The plant of this Joint Venture Company at Mysore is targeted to be commissioned by the year end.  The combined production from the New Paper Line at SPM, Hoshangabad and the Joint Venture Company after commissioning will be about 18,000 MT of Bank Note paper, which will meet the major requirement of Bank Note Paper indigenously as against the major requirement being imported at present.  The combined savings of foreign exchange from these two Bank Note projects will be about ₹ 1,500 crore in the coming years. 

The foundation stone for this New Bank Note Paper Line was laid on 17.12.2011 by the then Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee. The project has been completed at a cost of ₹ 495 crores within the budget and within the time schedule. This plant is environment friendly with minimal use of the power and water.  No additional water has been taken for this plant from Narmada River. This is a start-of-the-art plant with capability for incorporation of the advanced security features into the Bank Note paper.  This plant has been incorporated with the latest pulp manufacturing plant, control systems, equipped with automatic sheet cutter and packaging and has online inspection system.  This plant is capable of manufacturing all denominations of Bank Note paper with capacity to introduce 3-dimentional toned water mark.  The new plant has state of the art paper testing laboratory to the international standards for testing of the Bank Note Paper before dispatch to the Currency Note Presses.  This New Paper Line is environment friendly aiming for zero liquid discharge.  The latest surveillance system SAP-ERP and with state-of-the-art fire and safety system has been installed. This plant has a latest Mould Cover manufacturing facility for manufacture of the Bank Note paper with latest designs.

The annual turnover from this new Bank Note Paper Line when it comes into full production stream of 6000 MT capacity, will be about ₹ 450 crores. The plant will procure local raw materials like cotton comber, linter and chemicals except for the security features, which are obtained through exclusivity contracts. This plant will give boost to the local economy as lot of direct and indirect employment will be generated and supply of raw materials and services and spare parts will be sourced indigenously.

The production of the Bank Note paper from this New Paper Line at Hoshangabad and from the Joint Venture Paper Mill at Mysore will reduce the import of Bank Note paper considerably. This will also reduce possibility of diversion of the paper supplied by the foreign suppliers to the other destinations for the purpose of generating the fake currency.  Commissioning of this project is part of Make-in-India – Indigenisation of Currency and to become self-reliant in production of the raw materials requirement for the production of the Bank Notes.   

The existing Security Paper Mill at SPM, Hoshangabad had commenced production of the Currency and the Non Judicial Stamp Paper during 1967 with the process know-how and technology provided by M/s Portals, UK. However, with the advent of new technology in printing of the Bank Notes, requisite modernisation in the old paper lines could not be done and with the result the latest security features like wider windowed security thread etc. could not be carried out.  Therefore the higher denomination Bank Note paper could not be manufactured on these old lines. The old lines are presently being primarily used for the production of the Non Judicial Stamp Paper (NJSP) of about 3000 MT per annum to meet the NJSP requirements of the state Governments.

 Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), a Miniratna Category-I CPSE, is a wholly owned Schedule-A Company of Govt. of India. The Company was incorporated on 13.01.2006 and has nine Units engaged in minting of Coins, Printing of Bank Notes, Passports, Postal Stationery, Non-Judicial Stamp Papers, and other Security Documents & manufacture of Security Paper.   

The performance of the Corporation in all spheres has improved significantly since corporatisation. SPMCIL has more than doubled the production of the Coins and Bank Notes while manpower has reduced by one third.  SPMCIL has minted finely designed commemorative coins on various personalities and important events.  It has introduced new security products like Excise labels, warehousing receipts etc. The turnover of the company has increased about three times during the last eight years to about ₹ 4400 crores. SPMCIL has been paying dividend @20% of the Net Profit continuously for the last four years.  It has obtained EXCELLENT rating in its MoU performance for the last five years. It has paid back ₹ 1110 crore loans of BRBNMPL and Ministry of Finance, invested about ₹ 1540 crore from its own resources and created cash reserves of about ₹ 1500 crore.  It has carried out phase-I modernisation of Mints by introducing state-of-the-art coining machinery.  One state-of-the-art Currency Printing line has been installed at Bank Note Press, Dewas. Modernisation and capacity expansion of Ink Factory at Dewas has been completed. SPMCIL today stands as the successful model of Corporatisation of the erstwhile Government Units.

Indigenisation of bank note paper enhances domestic production, reduces imports and strengthens currency security features. Indigenisation of bank note paper is being advanced by a new 6,000 MT paper line at Hoshangabad and a 12,000 MT joint venture mill at Mysore to achieve import substitution and self reliance. The plants incorporate advanced security feature capability, online inspection, international standard testing, and environmentally oriented designs aiming for minimal resource use and zero liquid discharge. Operational effects highlighted include reduced import dependence, lowered diversion risk for counterfeit purposes, projected foreign exchange savings, local sourcing of raw materials except exclusive security features, and employment and economic benefits to the local economy.