Hello all It seems from this report, the Finance ministry is concerned only with the requirements of the sighted.
They seem to be oblivious of the presence of the blind in the country. One wonders if the newly designed Rs. 5 coin would be different in shape. The Rs. 10 coin can be used as a reference which is easily distinguishable visually but not so easy to differentiate by touch with the Rs. 2 coin which is of similar size. Strangely and regrettably so, none of the organizations working for the interest of the blind on the list are showing any interested in taking this issue up. A coordinated effort certainly can yield better results. Harish Kotian From: "Vishnu Ramchandani" <[email protected]> Rs 5 coin to go for a toss Government to remint the coins after receiving several complaints over similarity to 50p coins There's good news for all those who've lost money due to similarity between the Rs 5 and 50 paise coins. Ever since the Rs 5 coin, made of stainless steel, was introduced in 2008 the government received a lot of complaints. It has now stopped minting these coins. A K Ajmani, under secretary (coins and currency), ministry of finance, said, "The new Rs 5 coins will be yellowish in colour and will have ribbed edges. They will be introduced in the market soon." Citizens have faced problems as the new Re 1 coin looks a lot like the new Rs 2 coin and the Rs 5 coin is easily confused with the 50 p coin. Last year coins of denominations Rs 5, Rs 2 and Re 1 were introduced in the market. Sometimes customers who are in a hurry end up paying more because the coins look similar - Madan Singh Rajput, STD booth owner in Naupada Rajendra Prasad Sharma, who runs the Raj Machine Stores in Thane, said he has now started keeping the coins in separate containers. "The coins look similar at the first go. It becomes difficult when the shop is busy and there are many customers. When a customer is not in a hurry, it is alright. But at times, I wonder if the coin I handed over is 50 paise or Rs 5... There has to be some change in their appearance." Coins in India are minted by the ministry of finance and sent to the market by the Reserve Bank of India. The finance ministry usually makes recommendations for the coins which are then adopted in the new design. While designing and minting the coins, care is taken that the value of the metal is not more than the denomination of the coin. Changes are made in the coins regularly so that they aren't forged. When buses are crowded, it is exasperating to have to spend time examining the coins. The appearance has to change - Anil Awhad, BEST conductor on Borivli-Thane route The stainless steel coins were designed by the Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design on the recommendations of the ministry of finance. However, the new Rs 5 coin has been designed and minted by the government. Complaints about the Re 1 and Rs 2 coins will be examined by the ministry soon. Source: Mumbai Mirror Regards, Vishnu ________________________________ Notice: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, use, review, distribution, printing or copying of the information contained in this e-mail message and/or attachments to it are strictly prohibited. If you have received this email by error, please notify us by return e-mail or telephone and immediately and permanently delete the message and any attachments. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The Bank accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email. To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
