BRBNMPL Seeks Partners for In-House Colour Shift Feature Manufacturing

Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Pvt Ltd (BRBNMPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, has issued a global Expression of Interest (EOI/010/CO/2025-26) to establish a manufacturing facility for colour shift films (CSF), colour shift pigments (CSP), and related security features at its Mysuru site.

The Mysuru site already hosts VARNIKA, the BRBNMPL dedicated ink manufacturing unit, making it the logical hub for this new technological expansion.

Banknotes in India

BRBNMPL operates banknote presses in Mysuru and Salboni and produces around 50-60% of India’s currency requirements. Demand remains strong, as India’s total banknote requirement in FY 2024–25 was at around 30 billion pieces, up from 24.3 billion (2023-24), a 23.5% rise.

The rest of the production is managed by Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India (SPMCIL) at its two subsidiaries, Currency Note Press (Nashik) and Bank Note Press (Dewas).

Approach and bidding process

The proposed facility will manufacture colour shift films and pigments used in banknotes and other high-security documents. At present, BRBNMPL procures CSP to prepare colour shift intaglio inks (CSII), and procures banknote paper with colour shift thread (CST) from Bank Note Paper Mill (BNPMIPL), depending on the domestic and foreign supplier.