Govt seeks 3L Km 'Colour shift security thread' for currency notes but with Pakistan-China disclaimer

India wants three lakh kilometres of ‘Colour Shift Security Thread’ to print its currency notes but has specified to global contractors that such a job should be fire-walled from any operations with Pakistan and China, including the exclusion of nationals from the two countries.

The ‘Colour Shift Security Thread’ is a major security feature to ensure the authenticity of a currency note to distinguish it from counterfeit ones. Government sources say the source of all counterfeit Indian currency is mainly Pakistan, with links to China in certain cases.

A government document reviewed by News18 stipulates that the supply job be fire-walled from Pakistan and China. “The product supplied to India should be exclusive and should not be supplied to other countries. The operations carried out in Pakistan or China, if any, will be suitably firewalled from the contract or operations with the government of India,” the document has clearly specified.

It also says that employees who have previously worked or been posted in Pakistan or China, are Pakistani or Chinese nationals or trace their origin to the two countries will not be engaged by the company for this project. “The production facilities and transport of the raw material should be adequately secured to prevent pilferage and to circumvent threats from anti-national elements,” it says.