The government has initiated several measures to tackle the menace of Fake Indian Currency notes (FICN). In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Finance, S.S. Palanimanikkam said, several agencies under the Ministries of Finance and Home Affairs, Security and intelligence agencies of the Centre and States and also the CBI are working in tandem to thwart the illegal activities related to fake Indian currency. He said, a special FICN coordination Group has been formed in the Home Ministry to share intelligence and information on the subject among different security agencies of the Centre and the States. He said, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also been empowered to investigate and prosecute such offences. The Minister said, the Government has also constituted a Terror funding and Fake Currency Cell in NIA to focus on investigation
of such cases. He said, the RBI has also strengthened the mechanism for detection of counterfeit notes by the Banks. The minister informed the house that fake indian currency worth more than 19.32 crore rupees had come to light in 2010-11 as against 10.37 crore rupees in 2009-10.