This Is How India's Demonetised Notes Are Being Used In South African Elections

All those currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000, that were declared invalid by the Indian government last year around this time, are now being recycled and being turned into hardboards to be used in South Africa for its elections, reports Indian Express.

A deal has been struck between the Reserve Bank branch based in Thiruvananthapuram and Western India Plywoods (WIP), a company headquartered in Kannur, Kerala; the invalid notes are being turned into pulp, mixed with wood pulp and made into hard boards.

They are then sent to South Africa where they are used as placards and hoardings in the election campaign; elections there are due for 2019.

T M Bava, the general manager of WIP reportedly told the Indian Express that the Reserve Bank branch was sceptical to burn the enormous amounts of invalid notes. It was then that the Research & Development wing of WIP came up with an innovative method that would enable proper utilisation of the notes as well as not harm the environment.

Around 800 tonnes of demonetised currency was received by the company from the Reserve Bank of India’s regional office in Thiruvananthapuram. Each ton of notes is bought by WIP from the RBI for Rs 128. The entire process is undertaken at the WIP headquarters in Valapattanam in Kannur.

How is it done?

The RBI sends the shredded notes to WIP which is then cooked at high temperature.The technique of thermomechanical pulping is used to high-quality pulp currencies.The pulp is then put into a defibrillator (a refiner which grounds pulp material using steam). After that, it is mixed with wood pulp to make it strong enough to build into hard boards.

The company admits that it is an innovative technique that it has undertaken.

The Logical Indian community appreciates the initiative taken by WIP and the RBI where the invalid notes are being put to good use by being recycled and used for election campaigns in South Africa.