Mumbai, Aug. 5 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is conducting a pilot to test polymer banknotes in Indian conditions, with the aim of rolling them out by 2027-28, governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Wednesday.

"This is still a pilot. We will test and check how they perform in Indian conditions, climate and other infrastructure that we have put in place. And it is only thereafter that we will see if we need to further scale it up, as it is or with changes," he said while announcing the monetary policy for August.

If everything goes according to plan, he said, RBI is targeting a rollout at the beginning of the next fiscal year.

Polymer banknotes can incorporate advanced security features such as see-through windows, micro-optic holograms ...