Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday informed Parliament that the government has approved introduction of one billion polymer banknotes of ₹10 and ₹20 for field trials. As per the proposal sent by RBI, these polymer banknotes are proposed to be issued along with paper substrate-based banknotes, she said adding the procurement process is presently at an initial stage. The introduction of polymer banknotes is currently in a preliminary phase and the impact on digital payments, if any, could be ascertained only after regular issuance of these notes. “As per RBI, polymer banknotes are proposed to be issued along with paper substrate-based banknotes and that there is no proposal to replace paper currency with polymer substrate-based banknotes,” Chaudhary had clarified. On July 17, RBI-owned Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran (P) Ltd (BRBNMPL) had floated a global expression of interest (EoI) for manufacturing and supply of polymer substrate used to print plastic currency notes.