India is about to test whether its smallest currency notes can be made to last longer.

The government has approved an RBI trial of 100 crore polymer notes of ₹10 and ₹20 denominations each.

The idea is not to replace cotton notes, which India uses, but to put the two side by side and see how polymer performs in the conditions in which Indian currency actually circulates.This is not India’s first attempt.

In 2012, India announced a field trial of the same number of polymer ₹10 notes in five cities—Jaipur, Shimla, Bhubaneswar, Mysore and Kochi—chosen for their climatic diversity.

The process reached the tendering stage in 2017, but was eventually shelved over technological and procurement difficulties.The question has returned in 2026, but the circumstances have changed.

India now has a far bigger digital payment network, even though the overall demand for currency remains strong.

That makes the ₹10 and ₹20 notes a useful test—these low-value notes are handled most, but their use may also be changing as digital payments grow.So the experiment is not simply about whether plastic is better than cotton.

A polymer note could cost more to produce but last several times longer.

It would also bring new costs for machines, sorting, handling and disposal.

The real test is whether the longer life of the note can justify those costs under Indian conditions..Soiled rupee notes may soon be history as RBI eyes polymer currency rollout.Timeline of banknote1770: Bank of Hindostan, owned and operated by a British managing agency, becomes one of the earliest institutions in India to issue paper banknotes1861: The Paper Currency Act gives the colonial Government of India the monopoly over note issuance1935: The newly established Reserve Bank of India takes over responsibility for issuing banknotes1949: Independent India’s first banknote—the ₹1 note—replaces the British king’s portrait with the lion capital of Ashoka1996: The Mahatma Gandhi series begins2012: India announces a field trial of 100 crore polymer ₹10 notes in five cities—Jaipur, Shimla, Bhubaneswar, Mysore and Kochi—chosen for climatic diversity2017: Procurement for the 2012 trial reaches the tendering stage but is eventually shelved over technological and procurement difficulties2026: The government approves a fresh RBI trial of 100 crore polymer notes of ₹10 and ₹20 denominations eachQ&ADoes a costlier note need replacing less often?The basic question comes down to two things: how much a note costs and how long it lasts.

The calculation is not straightforward as the RBI does not publish the cost of polymer notes for each denomination.The most-cited figure is from 2012.

A ₹10 cotton note then reportedly cost 96 paise and lasted 9-10 months.

This figure is more than a decade old and should not be treated as today’s cost.The RBI’s total security-printing expenditure was ₹6,372.8 crore in 2024-25 and ₹4,875.2 crore in 2025-26, down 23.5%.

This reflects lower print orders, not necessarily a cheaper note, because the RBI prints notes both to meet demand and to replace notes that are no longer fit for use.The case for polymer is not that it is cheaper to print.

It may cost more per note, but it needs to be produced less often.

The trial will show whether that makes economic sense..Centre planning to remove Gandhi's image from currency notes, claims CPM MP John Brittas; cites 'high-level' meeting .What would the new notes cost?There is no reliable answer yet.

The RBI has not disclosed a target cost.

A global tender for polymer substrate with security features closed on August 18, with testing to follow under Indian conditions.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament that neither a launch date nor likely expenditure had been fixed.Comparing 2012’s 96-paise note with an assumed cost for polymer ones would be misleading.

What matters is the full life-cycle cost—production, security, processing, handling, replacement and disposal.How much longer would a polymer note last?Evidence points to a substantial gain, but there is no single figure.Governor Sanjay Malhotra says polymer notes elsewhere typically last three to four times as long, because low-denomination notes have higher “velocity” and shorter lives.The Bank of Canada, when it switched in 2011, conservatively assumed 2.5 times.

Australia’s $10 polymer note lasts 3.8 times as long as paper.

New Zealand’s $20 polymer note lasts 4.9 times....