No, there is no ban on the 10 rupee coin in India. It continues to be a legal tender in India. All the 10 rupee coins in circulation, regardless of size, shape, theme or design, are valid tenders for transactions across the country. The 10 rupee coin was introduced in the year 2005 by the Reserve Bank of India.
The present 10 rupee coin was designed in the year 2019. However, all the previous 10 rupee coins minted before the year 2019 are also legal tenders. Rumours regarding fake 10 rupee coins began circulating in 2016 and continues till date. Despite repeated clarifications, reports of shopkeepers refusing to accept 10 rupee coins keep on surfacing.
Rumours and Clarifications
In the year 2016, rumours regarding fake 10 rupee coins originated in Uttar Pradesh and spread throughout the country. Social media played a major role in fanning the rumours. Consequently, many shopkeepers in multiple parts of India started rejecting 10 rupee coins. As per the rumours, the 10 rupee coins with 15 notch design without the rupee symbol are illegal, while the 10 rupee coins with 10 notch design and rupee symbol are legal tenders.
On 20th November 2016, the Reserve Bank of India issued a press release to dispel the rumours. In the press release, the RBI stated that the alleged fake 10 rupee coin was designed in the year 2008, before the adoption of rupee symbol in 2010, and is still a legal tender, along with the 2011 design 10 rupee coin featuring the rupee symbol.
RBI had to issue a clarification again on 17th January 2018, when it came to the bank’s notice that in certain places traders and members of the general public were reluctant to accept 10 rupee coins due to doubts over their genuineness. The RBI clarified that it had issued 10 rupee coins in 14 designs thus far and all the coins of various designs are legal tender. In the statement, the bank also pointed out that the distinctive features of the coins reflect various themes of economic, social and cultural values, which are introduced from time to time.
In February 2022, the then Union Minister of State for Finance informed the Parliament that 10 rupee coins of various sizes, themes and designs, minted under the 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.
Punishment
10 rupee coins cannot be rejected by anyone, be it a shopkeeper or a bank employee or any other citizen. As per RBI Rules, anyone who refuses to accept a legal form of Indian currency is liable to be prosecuted on sedition charges.
