Mumbai

Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday said the Reserve Bank of India is targeting to launch long-lasting polymer currency notes at the beginning of the next financial year.

Speaking to reporters at the customary briefing after the monetary policy review, Malhotra said the polymer currency notes have lasted for over 30 years in some jurisdictions and will come in handy, especially for the lower denomination notes which have high velocity.

"We are targeting that they are in circulation, if everything goes as per plan, in the beginning of the next financial year," Malhotra said.

Malhotra said the next move of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the crucial aspect of interest rates and also the stance of the policy will be data-dependent, and underlined that the prime focus of the central bank is to align the headline inflation with its target of 4 per cent over the medium term.

Commenting on the Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank) scheme, Malhotra said the flows have been "robust", and the RBI expects healthy movement of funds going forward till the closure of the limited-period scheme.

When asked if the central bank is looking to close the scheme prematurely, given that there is a cost which the RBI is committed to bear for the fund inflows, Malhotra said there is no such proposal at this point of time.

After being pointed out that the rupee has not appreciated as intended despite the high flows from foreign shores, Malhotra said a further strengthening in the rupee is possible if geopolitical tensions de-escalate.

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It will be the RBI's endeavour that the trajectory for the rupee remains orderly, he added.