The notes finally reach the market

The ‘new note’ of the ‘new Bangladesh’ has finally reached the market, though it has not come into the hands of the larger public. It was possible only because there was a firm resolve to release the note before the Qurbani Eid. Before the Bakri Eid, the chief adviser, the finance adviser and the governor pressed for the printing of the note. I heard that during this great endeavour, the governor and the finance adviser regularly monitored the process. Due to this created pressure, the employees concerned of Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Security Printing Press were on edge, not at ease for a single moment. However, some credit for printing the note in a short time also goes to the suppliers of the note’s paper and ink.

I heard that they did not insist on strict adherence to the tender documents and the terms of the work order, and upon the request of the Security Printing Press, they supplied the paper and ink well before the scheduled delivery time. In this case, the local representatives of the paper and ink manufacturers also gave full cooperation, put pressure on their respective principals, and to convey the urgency of swift production, the local representatives perhaps had to knock at the principal’s door at their own expense.

Bangladesh Bank or the Security Printing Press cannot produce notes at will; because all raw materials for note production must be imported every year through international tenders. According to procurement policy, it takes at least six months to procure any note-related product. If none of the offers in a tender are responsive, re-tendering and procurement can take up to eight months. If the sample paper or ink supplied is not accepted in the first test by the press’s laboratory, collecting new samples and re-testing takes an additional one month. However, without the active involvement of the executive head of the press, it is difficult to avoid slackness among subordinates. It was due to the ministry's laxity that the Director General of the Shilpakala Academy, Syed Jamil Ahmed, had to resign.

When Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed was Governor, I had to work with him. I learnt from him that the role of suppliers and their local representatives or local agents is crucial in carrying out note production-related tasks. At one time, Uzbekistan regularly supplied our note paper, but as they had no seaport, they used Iran’s ‘Bandar Abbas’ seaport. Due to US economic sanctions imposed on Iran, Uzbekistan could not supply note paper through Iran’s seaport. As a result, a crisis of notes arose in our country due to a shortage of paper. In this situation, Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed sent me to Uzbekistan along with the concerned local agent. We were forced to bring the paper by cargo plane. Without the cooperation of the principal and the local agent, it would not have been possible to prepare and bring the paper within a week.

Cotton is Uzbekistan’s main cash crop, and note paper is made from this cotton. But as the US-imposed sanctions on Iran continued, Uzbekistan never again participated in tenders of the press. As Uzbekistan did not participate, the business went to several European paper manufacturers. European prices are always higher. In order to break the monopoly of European security paper manufacturers, Indonesia’s ‘PT Pura’ was enlisted by the press as a note paper supplier. As soon as PT Pura was enlisted, European companies started to lower their prices. The same situation occurred in the case of machine supply.

If China does not participate in the tender, European companies raise the price of their machines; if China participates, they lower the price. However, if bribes and corruption are encouraged, China cannot take part in the tender, as such conditions are imposed in the tender that make China's participation impossible. Of course, Indonesia’s PT Pura does not have the capacity to supply all the required paper for the press. European paper manufacturers are aware of this, and because they know, competitive pricing often cannot be ensured. An attempt was made to interest China in supplying paper and ink as well; if China steps forward, the price of note paper and ink will drop further.

As the suppliers of raw materials for notes are limited, it is not possible to reduce the cost of note production. Only two companies from Germany and Switzerland supply the ink for notes. The largest supplier of ink is Switzerland’s ‘SICPA’. For many years, this company has been supplying the colour-shifting ink ‘OVI’ without any tender; now instead of this ink, ‘Spark’ is being used in notes. In the new design of high-denomination notes, this ink is being used in the numerals written on the upper right side. The feature of this ink is that its shadow shifts when the note is tilted and straightened again. However, this feature is seen more clearly in some commercial products from China. A printed sample of Spark-type ink from China’s state note printing press was supplied to the Security Printing Press. About eighty percent of the cost in note printing is spent on OVI or Spark. If a source of equally good quality Spark-type ink is found elsewhere, the production cost of notes will drop significantly. However, due to the excessive demand for certification from users as proof of usage of paper and ink in notes, new manufacturers refrain from participating in tenders.

Bangladesh is a strange country. In this country, no one is allowed to build the image of a universally respected person. While countries like India, Pakistan, Vietnam, America, South Africa, America, etc., have universally accepted Fathers of the Nation, Bangladesh has not. In Pakistan, notes are still printed with the image of the Father of the Nation Muhammad Ali Jinnah; in India, notes bear the image of Mahatma Gandhi. But in Bangladesh, when the Awami League is in power, the portrait of Bangabandhu is included, and as soon as power changes, preparations begin to remove Bangabandhu’s portrait from the notes. Is that all? With a change in government, the names of various institutions also start being changed. The politics of vengeance takes a toll on the state treasury, causing the waste of thousands of crores of taka. The government of Dr Muhammad Yunus has also joined in the tradition of this game. This government is not only changing the design of the note, but also changing the names of various establishments. However, after a mass uprising, it was necessary for this government to change the design of the note.

A lot of time is required to finalise the design of nine notes of nine denominations. The initial design of the note is done at the Security Printing Press. Then it is refined with brush strokes through several meetings of the Design Advisory Committee. This advisory committee, formed under the leadership of Bangladesh Bank, comprises the country's renowned artists. But the country’s artists have no proper knowledge or experience in note design. Therefore, there is little improvement in the quality of our note designs. Our note designs are rather flat, plain, and lack variation. The artists have no knowledge about the freedom and limitations in incorporating security features into notes.

On the other hand, the Security Printing Press also does not have the capacity to originate notes; this origination or plate must be procured from abroad through tenders, and that takes time. To achieve this capacity, an investment of one hundred and fifty to two hundred crore taka is required. This investment is unnecessary because the change of government is linked to the change of note design. To obtain a design and some urgent plates from abroad, it is said that more than ten crore taka is spent. As a government does not change before at least five years, it is meaningless to make such a large investment and leave it idle with manpower for five years.

The watermark on the new note is a ‘tiger’s head’. At one time, the tiger’s head was used as a watermark on notes. But this head is so complex that it is not possible to create a 3D effect on it. Moreover, it is easy to mimic the shadow of the tiger’s head on counterfeit notes. As counterfeit notes contain a shadow of the tiger’s head watermark, many people get confused and mistake fake notes for genuine ones. For all these reasons, the use of the tiger’s head as a watermark was dropped in the Bangabandhu series, but it is unclear why it has been selected again for the new notes.

The three notes issued in the new design have no novelty in colour; the colours from the Bangabandhu series notes have been retained, but made lighter. On the one-thousand-taka note, a glaring spot is seen below the National Memorial—whether it is part of the design or an origination flaw is uncertain. Currently, in many countries, the denomination in numerals is printed larger on notes for the elderly and the visually impaired (not the blind). Those who are colour blind cannot identify notes by colour, but can recognise them by the large-printed numeral. But this essential feature has not been observed in the notes already issued. Many are mocking the new notes as lottery tickets, though such mockery from the opposition has occurred before. It would also be unreasonable to expect consensus from everyone regarding the design. If the designs and features of the new notes are not incorporated into the existing software, ATMs will not be able to recognise the new notes. So, it will take a few more days before the new notes can be used in ATMs.

To overcome design limitations, assistance from foreign experts may be taken if necessary. All the currently circulated notes in the Maldives have been designed by a foreign firm. I had the good fortune to be present at the launch of the Maldives' newly designed notes nearly twelve years ago. The designs on polymer substrate notes were diverse and aesthetically pleasing. Over the ages, there has been very little change in the design of the US dollar. It takes at least one year to design and complete the printing of nine high-quality notes. If the plan to print new notes had been taken in August, the Governor and the Finance Adviser would not have had to remain so anxious.

On the other hand, attempting to print notes in less time than needed has caused the relevant staff of Bangladesh Bank and the Security Printing Press to sweat it out. Therefore, congratulations to Bangladesh Bank and the Security Printing Press.

Ziauddin Ahmed: Former Executive Director, Bangladesh Bank