SBP mulls discontinuing Rs10 currency note over rising production cost

The State Bank of Pakistan is weighing an end to the Rs10 note as production expenses climb, a senior official told a Senate panel on Tuesday. Deputy Governor Dr Inayat Hussain made the disclosure during a session of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, according to Business Recorder. The committee was told that introducing replacement notes would take about one year, and printing a single Rs5,000 note costs roughly Rs14.

Committee chairman Senator Saleem Mandviwalla pointed to three Rs5,000 notes sent to the SBP for verification nearly two years ago, and a reply is still awaited. The Deputy Governor said the current Rs5,000 note dates from 2005 and that improved technology has made counterfeiting easier. A tender for a new design drew four bidders, and a consultant firm now making the required changes won the contract, with federal approval still needed.

Separately, the committee heard that the government had provided Rs120 billion in subsidies to banks to facilitate remittances from overseas Pakistanis, but the support was curtailed in the previous year. Banks have since chosen to cover those costs from their own resources, and the committee plans to call selected banks to report on their performance. Members also voiced concern about foreign investor cases that remain pending, while one senator warned that loss-making companies might mislead shareholders.