India has Zero Rupee note to fight against corruption, know all about it

India has had zero rupee notes for more than a decade now and not many people know about it because it has not been issued by the Reserve Bank of India. The note was made to combat bribery and systematic political corruption by a Tamil Nadu-based non-governmental organisation called 5th Pillar and are designed to look like the standard 50 rupee banknotes of India. The note was introduced in the year 2007, around 14 years ago.

The note contains contact information for the government authorities, as the purpose of these notes is to discourage any type of bribery. As a result, if a public official requests a bribe, citizens are urged to pay with zero rupee notes. The note features anti-corruption slogans like "Eliminate corruption at all levels" and "I promise to neither accept nor give bribe." According to an official statement by the Fifth pillar, the notes have been printed in different languages such as Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam, and its volunteers distribute these notes in public places such as railway stations, bus stations, and markets to raise awareness about bribery and share their primary goal of eradicating corruption.

People share about Zero Rupee notes on Twitter

Recently, the existence of these notes came into the light when people started sharing facts about these notes on the microblogging site Twitter. One Twitter user named Guruprasad Balaji shared an image of one of the notes of Zero Rupees, stating that in India, there has been a Zero rupee currency in circulation for almost a decade and many of the Indian citizens are unfamiliar with it because it is not supervised by the RBI. He further stated that Fifth Pillar, which is a non-governmental organisation, proposed this notion in 2007 in order to combat corruption.

Another man named Durgesh shared about the zero rupee note stating that the zero-rupee note's goal is to promote awareness about bribery and discuss their primary goal of eradicating corruption. He also stated that a Tamil Nadu-based NGO has printed millions of notes in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam in the market.

Some people were shocked to know about the existence of these notes as one of the Twitter users said that he did not know this up until now. Another person appreciated the 5th Pillar NGO for its effort against corruption.

Image: Twitter/@GP_Me