So what is the current situation with coins in circulation in India ? Well the situation is a little strange. India has for the last few years been suffering a severe shortage of circulating coins. This shortage is being strongly fought against by the government, namely the RBI (Reserve Bank of India). This coin shortage has been brought about by a combination of several factors. Reasons such as:- India's huge population, the fact that the banks other than the RBI are seldom involved with coin distribution, the fact that the once much used notes of 1, 2 and 5 Rupees are no longer issued and thirdly it is quite possible that too many people are holding on to too many coins.

This shortage of coins is a really big problem and so a number of big steps have been taken by the RBI to help solve it. I shall explain some of these measures and detail how some of them have had an affect on the appearance of the coins now in circulation.

The two main steps taken to ease the coin shortage problem...........