Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday inaugurated a new production line here to manufacture currency paper, saying it symbolises the beginning of the 'Make In India' initiative and would ensure high-denomination notes are printed on locally-made paper.
Currently, currency notes of larger denominations are printed on imported paper though ink used is mostly produced within the country, the Minister said. Jaitley made these comments after inaugurating the New Bank Note Paper line with an annual capacity of 6,000 tonnes at the Security Paper Mill (SPM). He also expressed happiness that a beginning of Government's flagship programme 'Make In India' is being made in MP, a state which has ceased to be a Bimaru (sick) state following various initiatives taken by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan in the recent past. MP Government has done well to promote agriculture and infrastructure and it should now focus on industry, he said, while promising to consider the demand of the state for more initiatives to encourage manufacturing activity.
Hoshangabad was chosen as the centre for producing paper for printing currency notes several decades ago by Morarji Desai, who was the then Finance Minister and later became the Prime Minister.
