century. however, paper currency did not catch on in india because of the political turmoil following the collapse of mughal empire in the 17th century. early currency in the form of “ i owe you / promissory notes ” issued by banks or royal courts made appearance in india only in late 18th century. among the early issuer of bank notes in india were bank of hindostan ( 1770 – 1832 ), the general bank of bengal and behar ( 1773 – 75 ), the bengal bank ( 1784 – 91 ), the commercial bank, etc. use of bank notes, however, became widespread only after the semi - government presidency banks started issuing notes, notably the bank of bengal which was established in 1806. these banks were established under a government charter and were required to observe some prudential norms like cash reserve, maximum exposure limit, limit for note issue, etc. 7. use of official government of india paper currency commenced in 1861 with the enactment of the paper currency act. the management of currency across the indian sub - continent was evidently a huge task, requiring creation of currency circles. the presidency banks were made agents for issue and redemption. in 1913, the office of controller of currency was established replacing the currency department in the government. in 1935, reserve bank of india was created which took over the function of note issue from the controller of currency. 8. indian currency notes were printed in england till late 1920s. recognising that production of currency notes is a strategically important activity, the then government of india set up a currency printing press at nashik in maharashtra in 1928. this was followed by the setting up of another press at dewas in madhya pradesh nearly fifty years later in 1975. meanwhile, in 1967, a security paper mill with a capacity of 1500 metric tonnes per year was established at hoshangabad in mp. by the late 1980s, the demand for currency notes exceeded the capacity of the two government note presses. to meet the demand - supply gap, at the instance of government of india, the reserve bank established, in 1996, two currency presses – this one here in mysore and the other at salboni in west bengal. these were set up through a wholly owned subsidiary of rbi viz. the bharatiya reserve bank note mudran pvt. ltd. ( brbnmpl ). by 1999, the brbnmpl ’ s two new presses started working to their full capacity making the country self reliant once again in currency note printing.

t t mboweni : g - 20 seminar on economic growth remarks by mr t t mboweni, governor of the south african reserve bank, at the cocktail reception for delegates to the g - 20 seminar, pretoria, 3 august 2005. * * * ministers, deputy ministers, governor, deputy governors and esteemed delegates let me extend a warm welcome to the delegates from the g - 20 countries to the g - 20 seminar on economic growth, which is jointly hosted by the south african reserve bank, the people ’ s bank of china and banco de mexico. it is indeed an honour for me to welcome representatives from various leading countries for discussions on a topic that is of great importance not only to the members of the g - 20 but to every country. permit me also to briefly remind you of the important principles that are set out in the g - 20 accord for sustained growth that was discussed at the sixth meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the g - 20 held in berlin in november 2004. our accord for sustained growth is all about mobilising economic forces for satisfactory long - term growth by focusing domestic policy on three tasks in particular : establishing and maintaining monetary and financial stability ; enhancing domestic and international competition ; and empowering people to participate. while appropriate and credible policies are the basis for economic growth, they need to be backed by high - quality institutions, including ethical standards in corporate governance. however, given the diversity of institutional settings and the success of different economic strategies among g - 20 countries, it is acknowledged that there is no single template for strong long - term growth. policies need to be shaped to the special circumstances in individual countries. the accord deems price stability as being indispensable for sustainable economic growth as it fosters investment and saving. high inflation is destabilising and has a strong negative impact on the poor, while deflation squeezes profits, discourages investment and leads people to postpone spending. the accord acknowledges the importance of central bank independence in helping to achieve the goal of price stability in the long run. fiscal discipline is seen to be equally important by, and fiscal policy should ensure that public expenditures and debt remain at reasonable levels in relation to national aggregates in order to prevent economic growth being restrained by crowding - out, anticipated future tax increases and inflationary pressures. the accord states that the domestic financial sector must be able to withstand economic shocks without giving rise to systemic problems which impair the allocation of savings to investment opportunities and the