Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State in Ministry of Finance in a written reply has sated that coins of ₹ 10 of various sizes, themes, and designs, minted under authority of the Government of India and circulated by the Reserve Bank of India, are legal tender and can be used as legal tender in all transactions. The minister replied to a question raised by A. Vijayakumar in Rajya Sabha whether the coins of ₹ 10 are not being accepted in many parts of the country presuming as fake ones.
However, the minister also added that, “some complaints regarding non-acceptance of ₹ 10 coin have been received from general public from time to time. In order to create awareness, remove misconceptions and allay fears in the mind of the public, RBI issues press releases periodically, urging members of the public to accept the coin as legal tender in all their transactions without any hesitation. Furthermore, nation-wide SMS awareness campaign and print media campaign were also undertaken by RBI to increase acceptance of coins among the public."
Earlier, Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has said that all the 14 designs of ₹10 coin are valid and legal tender for transactions, amid reluctance by certain traders to accept the coins.
"It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank that in certain places there is reluctance on part of traders and members of public to accept ₹10 coins due to suspicion about their genuineness," the RBI said while reiterating legal tender status of the coins of different designs.
In a statement, the central bank clarified that it puts into circulation the coins minted by government mints.
These coins, it further said, have distinctive features to reflect various themes of economic, social and cultural values and are introduced from time to time.
"So far the Reserve Bank has issued ₹10 coin in 14 designs... All these coins are legal tender and can be accepted for transactions," the RBI said.
It has also asked banks to accept coins for transactions and exchange at all their branches.
