Karachi January 30 2024: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) initiating process for designing and issuing a new banknotes series of all existing denominations on Tuesday, announced an art competition to acquire innovative and thematic design ideas.
The central bank, in a statement issued here, said that it intended to complete the process involving a number of steps and stages from initial selection of design ideas to approval of the final printable design by the federal government within the next two years.
“The existing banknote series will remain in circulation even after the issuance of new series. Any decision on withdrawal of the existing series from circulation will be taken in a gradual and phased manner, once the new banknotes are issued and are in circulation in sufficient quantities,” it added.
As part of the initial process of designing the new banknote series, the SBP is organizing an Art Competition to have innovative and thematic design ideas for the new banknote series, it stated adding that the local artists, designers and art students could send their designs to SBP by 11th March 2024.
The top three designs for each of the existing seven denominations would be recognized and awarded cash prizes, the SBP spokesperson informed. The design ideas and themes finalized after the competition will be shared with the reputed professional banknote designers to be selected through a competitive process for developing the final printable designs for each denomination, he said and added that the final designs will be submitted to the federal government for approval.
Introducing new banknote series after every fifteen to twenty years is an established practice of central banks for securing integrity of banknotes and align them with the latest technological developments in the banknote design and security features, he said. The process of issuance of new banknote series involves a number of steps and stages and thus requires meticulous planning and coordination amongst multiple stakeholders, he said and added that generally, it takes 2 to 3 years to launch a new banknote series, however, the SBP intends to complete the process within the next 2 years.
The complete information about the Art Competition can be accessed at https://www.sbp.org.pk/ArtCompetition/ArtCompetition.pdf
