SSC · Railway
In India, coins of all denominations are issued by the:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option C — Ministry of Finance (Government of India)
Detailed Solution
In India, coins are issued by the Government of India, through the Ministry of Finance, under the Coinage Act, 2011. They are put into circulation through the Reserve Bank of India.
Coins versus notes:
- Coins: the Government of India has the sole right to mint coins.
- Banknotes: the Reserve Bank of India has the sole right to issue banknotes, under Section 22 of the RBI Act, 1934.
- One-rupee notes: these are issued by the Government of India and carry the signature of the Finance Secretary, not the RBI Governor.
Minting of coins:
- Coins are minted at four government mints, located in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Noida.
- These mints are run by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), a company owned by the government.
Role of the RBI:
- The RBI distributes coins to the public through its offices and banks.
- It decides, in consultation with the government, the quantity of coins needed.
Legal tender:
- Coins are legal tender under the Coinage Act, 2011.
- Coins of one rupee and above are legal tender up to 1,000 rupees, and coins of 50 paise are legal tender up to 10 rupees.
Printing of banknotes:
Banknotes are printed at four presses: Nashik and Dewas (owned by SPMCIL), and Mysuru and Salboni (owned by the RBI's subsidiary, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran).
Rupee symbol:
The rupee symbol was adopted in 2010; it was designed by D. Udaya Kumar.
Decimal coinage:
India adopted decimal coinage in 1957, under which one rupee was divided into 100 naye paise.
Demonetisation:
In November 2016, the government demonetised 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The State Bank of India does not issue currency.
- ✗Good to know
- ✗The RBI issues banknotes but not coins.
- ✗SPMCIL mints coins on behalf of the government, not on its own authority.
Quick tip
Remember: Coins and one-rupee notes = Government of India (Ministry of Finance); other banknotes = RBI.
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Money, Banking & RBI — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Money, Banking & RBI, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers money and its functions, the banking system in India, the Reserve Bank of India and monetary policy, policy tools such as the repo rate, reverse repo rate, CRR and SLR, bank nationalisation, types of banks, and payment systems such as NEFT, RTGS and UPI. Banking exams test this topic in depth. Questions often ask when the RBI was set up (1935, on the recommendation of the Hilton Young Commission), when it was nationalised (1949), what each policy rate means, and when major banks were nationalised (14 banks in 1969 and 6 in 1980). Current policy rates change often, so check the latest RBI announcements. Practise the money, banking and RBI questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.