Counterfeit Currency

     From past five to six years, in the country flow of counterfeit currency is increase quite a lot, some government offices’ have install machine to track the duplicate notes but still lot of government offices’ and private offices’ are without the counterfeit notes checking machine, thus they become soft targets of persons involve in the trade and some become part of it without knowing that they are carrying with them counterfeit currency because of lack of any device at their disposable, and this way counterfeit currency changing hands from one person to another until it not reach at the point where machine install for fake currency notes, certainly lack of control or dedicated department to check the fake notes, it is adding negative effect on Indian economy. Government should consider on priority basis to deal with counterfeit currency.
    From gone by Five to six years Pakistan, add one more tactics, to create problem for India .They started sending duplicate notes to India through different channels of 500 denomination and 1000 denomination notes, and persons responsible for influx of duplicate notes into Indian markets are –

• Travelers
• Agents in the disguise of tourists
• Through Nepal, Punjab and Bangladesh border by their associates
• Hawala rackets
• Needy persons
• Some local Indians who under greediness ready to circulate fake currency in the India markets

      On an average, once a week there is news related to recovery of counterfeit currency and along with it arrest of its agents or person, which carrying these notes to use in the market.
      It is not that only mischievous elements are pushing duplicate notes in the market, but sometimes in the past, news was published of duplicate notes from the A.T.M. of the P.S.U. bank in Maharashtra, which upset A.T.M. users, because if duplicate notes comes out from A.T.M. transaction it means duplicate notes were put in A.T.M. after the nod and information to the top officials of the concerned bank and which was did intentionally. After the news broke up of fake currency notes in A.T.M., then there was lot of uproar in the country and fingers points towards the authenticity of A.T.M. transactions. Problem for common Indians is that when they goes to banks to deposit money, then banks employees accept money, only after they satisfied that notes are genuine, courtesy fake currency detector machine install at their premises, but common people collect money from banks and counts the numbers and put them in their pockets, without testing/checking if they are original or fake, due to lack of access to the machine.
    As per government sources’, Passport Office of Jalandhar, now a days facing problem of counterfeit notes, concerned employee of department who sit on cash counter of Passport office of Jalandhar, reveals that as there is no fake currency checking machine install, thus they are getting from past few months fake currency notes of 500 and 1000 denominations from the applicants. Now until and unless Central Government not appoint Regional Passport Officer, department has to look some innovative way to tackle the problem as to install machine decision can be taken by only Regional Passport Officer. So at the time of taking form and fees they mark the notes numbers on to the applicant’s application in the presence of the applicant, thus it can’t be challenge of any discrepancy.
    To avoid free flow of counterfeit currency notes in the market government should make it mandatory to install counterfeit currency checker machines at public and important places, which allow common or any people to check their notes like –

• Banks
• Bus Stands
• Railway Stations
• Hospitals
• Educational institutions
• Theaters and Multiplex

   may be they allow very nominal fees for using machines so that they get back money invested on Machines; so that innocent people should not be blame part of wrong practice and holder of duplicate notes won’t be succeed to use it. Biggest reason of free flow of counterfeit currency in the market is shortage and not access to the currency checker machine, which detects fake notes in jiffy, which human takes lot of time.