According to some media reports, the Reserve Bank of India is going to introduce a mobile application to help visually-impaired persons identify banknotes. The RBI currently issues and circulates banknotes in seven different denominations namely, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 200, Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000. Apart from these, the Government of India issues Rupee 1 notes.

RBI officials state that it’s very important for visually challenged individuals to identify denominations clearly so that they can complete their transactions correctly. Banknotes of denominations Rs 100 and above come with Intaglio features that help the visually impaired persons identify banknotes.

The proposed mobile application would identify the denominations of notes from the Mahatma Gandhi Series and Mahatma Gandhi (New) series. The user will have to place the notes in front of the mobile camera. Once the note is identified, an audio notification would be generated. If the image is not captured correctly or if it’s not readable, the user should be asked to try once again. The RBI has asked technology companies to place their quotations and designs.

According to the reports, almost 80 lakh blind or visually impaired people live in India and all of them will be greatly benefitted by this innovative mobile application. The RBI had started analysing the feasibility of such a device in June 2018.

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