New currency notes printed by the Central Bank after the appointment of the current government?

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In the last months, after the current government was appointed, there was a lot of discussion in the society and on social media regarding the printing of money. Before this heat subsides, photos are being published on social media claiming to be new notes, and we have taken steps to investigate to find the truth regarding this.

Social Media Posts

After the current government was elected, a video with photos was circulated through social media, indicating that they are the new currency notes printed by the Central Bank issued in Sri Lanka, with the caption “New Sri Lanka Currency Look”.

https://www.tiktok.com/@rusthy8/photo/7459719114097970440

TikTok | TikTok

Through the responses that were received by the video, it is clear that many people assumed that Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 noted were actually printed.

This video was shared through You Tube as well.

Here is how we checked the credibility of this matter.

Fact Check

If new currency notes were printed by the Central Bank, the mainstream media should report on that, since the new Central Bank Act had strictly limited the printing of money. But the mainstream media has not reported on it.

As the new currency notes printing is decided by the Currency Department of the Central Bank, we checked whether such information was reported on its official website and we couldn’t see any such news.

Not new notes, but a series of photos of the packaging that was used to store the notes !

Due to this, we made an inquiry with the Central Bank. They mentioned that the above photos show the currency folders that were used to store the new currency notes issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka back in 2011 and that the new packages /  folders were used to store the relevant currency notes.

However, the Central Bank confirmed that no such folder was printed recently.

On checking further information in this regard, it was found that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has issued a series of currency notes on February 4^th, 2011 under the theme, “Development, Prosperity and Dancers of Sri Lanka”. It was the eleventh currency note series issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka after its establishment in 1950.

In 1991, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka introduced the 10^th currency note category. The new currency notes published in 2011, i.e., the 06 types of notes which are still in used today, namely Rs. 5000, Rs. 1000, Rs. 500, Rs. 100, Rs. 50, Rs. 20, which were included in the currency notes folders shown in the photos above, were introduced through the website of the Central Bank as follows.

A major difference between the previous series of notes in circulation and the new series of notes introduced in 2011 is the size of the notes. All denominations of the new banknote series have the same width, while the length has been increased by 5 mm from the lowest denomination to the highest denomination.

There was a wide discussion in the society about the removal of symbols such as lion and the ‘punkalasa’, that were used before the new batch, and instead of using different types of birds. This is how it was reported that the then Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabral, introduced these new currency notes to the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa in February 2011 at the ‘Dayata Kirula’ exhibition ground.

Also, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka had introduced the purchase of these currency sets for collectors of notes and coins, as well as a pack containing all the notes, and separate packs for each note. The selling price at the time was mentioned as follows.

You can view some instances where some buyers posted notices on social media to sell those currency notes along with the folders, from here and here.

Here is how it was mentioned in a report issued by the Central Bank in 2011 that, these notes are valid for a payment of any amount within Sri Lanka and are the responsibility of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, as long as they remain in circulation, and that the other notes issued for circulation by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka are still legally valid to be used for payment of any amount in Sri Lanka.

This is also clear by examining a case where money folders were obtained after ordering in this One such video is below.

Here is a report published regarding the new currency notes introduced in 2011 including the photos of the folders.

Current Note Series issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

When does the Central Bank of Sri Lanka print new currency notes?

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has to print new currency notes based on two factors. One of them is to replace the currency notes that have become discolored and unclear during use and to print new notes in proportion to the economic development of the country.

When the country’s production increases and the economy is strong, people need money to buy those products. In such a situation, new currency notes will be printed according to the development of the country. It should be done on an accurate estimate and on a scientific basis.

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Conclusion

Our investigation shows that the photos that are circulated on social media claiming that they are the new currency notes, are the currency notes folders that were printed in 2011 along with the new batch of noted printed in 2011.