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Bangladeshi taka

টাকা (Bengali)
Sign Taka banknotes
ISO 4217
Code	BDT (numeric: 050)
Subunit	0.01
Unit
Symbol	৳‎
Denominations
Subunit
1⁄100	Poisha (defunct)
Symbol
Poisha	p
Banknotes
Freq. used	৳5, ৳10, ৳20, ৳50, ৳100, ৳200, ৳500 and ৳1000
Rarely used	৳1 and ৳2
Coins
Freq. used	৳1, ৳2, ৳5
Demographics
Date of introduction	4 March 1972; 52 years ago (1972-03-04)
Replaced	Pakistani rupee
User(s)	Bangladesh
Issuance
Central bank	Bangladesh Bank
Printer	The Security Printing Corporation Bangladesh Ltd.
Website	www.spcbl.org.bd
Mint	The Security Printing Corporation Bangladesh Ltd.
Valuation
Inflation	9.41%
Source	BBS, August 2021

The Bangladeshi taka (Bengali: টাকা, sign: ৳, code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of Bangladesh. In Unicode, it is encoded at U+09F3 ৳ BENGALI RUPEE SIGN.

Issuance of banknotes ৳10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, while the ৳2 and ৳5 govt. notes are the responsibility of the ministry of finance. The govt. notes of Tk. 2 and Tk.5 have mostly been replaced by coins while lower denomination coins (including all poysha coins) up to Tk. 1 have almost gone out of circulation due to inflation. The most commonly used symbol for the taka is "৳" and "Tk", used on receipts while purchasing goods and services. It is divided into 100 poysha, but poysha coins are no longer in circulation. The poysha is still used for accounting purposes (e.g., Tk 123,456.78 for 123,456 taka and 78 poysha).

On 8 May 2024, the central bank placed the taka in a crawling peg to the US dollar, with a rate of 117 takas per US dollar.

Etymology

According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and Banglapedia, the word taka came from the Sanskrit word tankah, meaning silver coin. The word taka in Bangla is also commonly used generically to mean any money, currency, or notes. Thus, colloquially, a person speaking in Bangla may use "taka" to refer to money regardless of what currency it is denominated in. This is also common in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where the official name of the Indian rupee is "taka" as well. In other eastern Indian languages with the influence of Prakrit in Bihar it is "taka" in Maithili and Magadhi languages, in Assam it is টকা tôka and it is ଟଙ୍କା taṅkā in Odisha.

History

1947–1971

After the Partition of Bengal in 1947, East Bengal became the eastern wing of Pakistan and was renamed to East Pakistan in 1956. The Pakistani rupee also bore the word taka on official notes and coins. Bangla was one of the two national languages of the Pakistan union between 1956 and 1971 (the other being Urdu). The Bangladeshi taka came into existence since 1972, a year after the independence of the eastern wing of the union, as the independent nation of Bangladesh.

Prior to the Liberation war in 1971, banknotes of the State Bank of Pakistan circulated throughout Bangladesh, and continued to be used in Bangladesh even after independence for only about three months until the official introduction of the taka on 4 March 1972. During the war, it was an unofficial practice of some Bengali nationalists to protest Pakistani rule by stamping banknotes with "বাংলা দেশ" and "BANGLA DESH" as two words in either Bangla or English. These locally produced stamps are known to exist in several varieties, as are forgeries. On 8 June 1971, the Pakistani government declared that all banknotes bearing such stamps ceased to be legal tender. Furthermore, to prevent looted high-denomination notes from disrupting the Pakistani economy, the government also withdrew the legal tender status of all 100- and 500-rupee notes.

Since 1972

The taka was introduced in Bangladesh in 1972, replacing the Pakistani rupee at par.

Treasury banknotes

• The first treasury notes in 1972 for ৳1 and notes of the Bangladesh Bank for ৳5, ৳10 and ৳100.
• In 1977, banknotes for ৳50 were introduced, followed by ৳500 in 1979 and ৳20 in 1982.
• ৳1 treasury notes were issued until 1992, with ৳2 treasury notes introduced in 1989.
• ৳1000 banknotes were introduced in 2008.
• ৳5 banknotes, previously issued by Bangladesh Bank, are now issued by the Government of Bangladesh. These have mostly been replaced by coins since the early 2000s.

Banknotes and issues

In 2000, the government issued polymer ৳10 notes as an experiment (similar to the Australian dollar). They proved unpopular, however, and were withdrawn later. At present, the ৳1 and ৳5 notes have mostly been replaced with coins, and in 2008, the government issued ৳1,000 notes.

In 2011, Bangladesh Bank began issuing a new series of banknotes denominated in ৳2, ৳5, ৳100, ৳500, and ৳1000. All are dated 2011 and feature a portrait and watermark of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along the National Martyr's Monument in Savar at center front.

From 2011, the Bangladesh Bank introduced new notes denominated in ৳10, ৳20, and ৳50 on 7 March 2012. The notes bear the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Martyr's Monument in Savar on the front. On the back of the notes, the ৳10 will picture the Baitul Mukarram mosque, the ৳20 pictures the Shat Gombuj mosque in Bagherat, and the ৳50 notes feature Shilpacharjo Zainul Abedin's famous painting Ploughing.

On 7 March 2019, Bangladesh Bank released new ৳100 notes, which had the same design as 2011 Version, but had better security, a stronger Blue and were made of a different material.

On 15 December 2019, Bangladesh Bank issued new ৳50 banknotes, with the same design as the 2011 version, but had a different colour (orange, brown and fluorescent yellow-green), and a slightly different design in some parts.

On 17 March 2020, Bangladesh Bank introduced new ৳200 notes. They bear a portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on both sides and a landscape picture of a village, river and boats.

Commemorative banknotes

In 2011, Bangladesh Bank also introduced a ৳40 note to commemorate the "40th Victory Anniversary of Bangladesh". The commemorative note features a portrait of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Martyr's Monument in Savar on front, and six armed men on back. Curiously, this note has an electrotype 10 in the watermark, indicating it was likely printed on extra ৳10 banknote paper.

On 15 February 2012, Bangladesh Bank has introduced a ৳60 note to commemorate "60 years of National Movement". The commemorative note measures 130 by 60 millimetres (5.1 in × 2.4 in) and features the Shaeed Minar (Martyrs' monument) in Dhaka and five men on the back. Like the ৳40 commemorative note, this note has an electrotype 50 in the watermark. It was likely printed on extra ৳50 banknote paper.

On 26 January 2013, Bangladesh Bank issued a ৳25 note to commemorate the 25th anniversary (silver jubilee) of the Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd. On the front is the National Martyr's Monument in Savar, the designs of the previous series of the Bangladeshi taka notes and its postage stamps, three spotted deer and the magpie-robin (doyel). On the reverse is the headquarters of the Security Printing Corporation. Curiously, this note has an electrotype 10 in the watermark, indicating it was likely printed on extra ৳10 banknote paper.

On 8 July 2013, Bangladesh Bank issued a ৳100 note to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Bangladesh National Museum. The commemorative note features an 18th-century terracotta plaque of a horseman on the front and the Bangladesh National Museum on the back.

Coins

In 1973, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 25 and 50 poysha. 1 poysha coins followed in 1974, with ৳1 coins introduced in 1975. The 1, 5 and 10 poysha were struck in aluminium, with the 25 and 50 poysha struck in steel and the ৳1 in copper-nickel. The 5 poysha were square with rounded corners, and the 10 poysha were scalloped. Steel ৳5 were introduced in 1994, and a steel ৳2 coin followed in 2004.

1 and 5 poysha coins are rarely found in circulation. The same is the case with the 10, 25, and 50 poysha coins, as they have lost value due to inflation over the years. Only the ৳1, ৳2 and ৳5 are occasionally found in circulation. Unlike most other countries, coins are not issued every year. The most recent coins, ৳1, ৳2 and ৳5, were issued in 2013.

Banknotes

Previous issues

First Series

Bangladesh introduced its first banknotes on 4 March 1972. At first 1 taka and 100 taka banknotes were introduced. Later 10 and 5 taka notes were added. This first issued series is commonly known as "Map Series". These banknotes are considered as emergency issue banknotes to replace the Pakistan rupee banknotes both with and without rubber stamp overprints.

Map Series (1972)
Image		Value	Description		Period
Obverse	Reverse		Obverse	Reverse
		৳1	Map of Bangladesh	Guilloche patterns and "1" in Bengali ("১")	4 March 1972 – 30 March 1974
		৳5	Map of Bangladesh and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	Guilloche patterns and "5" in Bengali and English	2 June 1972 – 1 April 1973
		৳10		Guilloche patterns and "10" in Bengali and English	2 May 1972 – 1 April 1973
		৳100	Guilloche patterns and "100" in Bengali on and English	4 March 1972 – 1 April 1973

Second Series

After issuing the first banknotes, there were many conspiracy theories, counterfeiting problems and rumours, so the government issued the second series. These second series banknotes were printed by Thomas De La Rue of England. First-issued banknotes were subsequently withdrawn from circulation by 30 April 1974 after having ceased to hold legal tender status from 30 March 1974.

Thomas De La Rue Series (1972)
Image		Value	Main Color	Description		First Issue
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse
		৳1	Dark purple, light purple and khaki	Hand holding paddy rice	The emblem of Bangladesh	2 March 1973
		৳5	Red	Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	Shapla flowers	1 September 1972
		৳10	Green		Rural landscape of riverine Bangladesh	2 June 1972
		৳100	Gray		Riverscape of rural Bangladesh	1 September 1972

Third Series

Bangladesh Government signed agreements with Thomas De La Rue and Bradbury Wilkinson at the same time. Both of them printed same denominations with different design almost at the same time. As a result, two different series were circulating at the same time.

Fourth Series

During 1976 a completely new series of notes was introduced, with the exception of the 1-taka note, which was released as the second variety of the third issue during 1976. The notes of this issue are notable for the absence of the portrait of Sheikh Mujib, whose portrait had dominated all issues of the Bangladesh Bank until this issue. Instead of the familiar portrait, each note has an illustration of the Star Mosque on its front. 50 and 500 taka denomination was added in this series. 5,10,50 and 100 taka denominations were printed by Thomas De La Rue. 500 taka notes were printed by Giesecke and Devrient of Germany.

Fifth Series

The fifth issue of banknotes was introduced over a two-year period from December 1977 to September 1979. The notes of this issue are very similar to those of the fourth issue; except the 'Star Mosque' was replaced on most notes by a new vignette and the colours of the notes are a little darker. There was no 500-taka note released in this issue, but a new denomination note of 20 taka was introduced on 20 August 1979, being the last note of this issue prepared by the Bangladesh Bank.

Sixth Series

During the 1980s, some designs of taka notes were introduced, but most of the designs were the same. A new denomination of taka 2 note was also introduced. 10 and 50 takas were redesigned. Other denominations were the same as the previous series.

Seventh Series

During the 90s newly designed banknotes of 10,50 and 500 taka were printed. 10 taka note had a portrait of Bangabandhu.

Eighth Series

This series was printed between 2000 and 2001. A polymer banknote of denomination 10 was added, but later withdrawn due to lack of popularity. Paper notes of denomination 100 and 500 were printed with new designs. A portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was added on each new note replacing the National Martyrs' Memorial Monument.

Ninth Series

After a change in government new series of banknotes were introduced in 2002–2003. The portrait of Bangabandhu was absent in this series. In 2008, 1000 taka note was introduced for the first time.

Tenth Series

The Bangladesh Bank has issued a new series of banknotes, phasing out the older designs for new, more secure ones. All banknotes other than the 1 taka feature a portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on the obverse along with the watermark of the National Martyrs' Memorial.

Bangabandhu Series (Latest Issue)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color		Description			Date of Issue
Obverse	Reverse					Obverse	Reverse	Watermark
		৳2	100 × 60 mm		Tan & Green	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	Shaheed Minar, Dhaka	National Martyrs' Memorial and electrotype denomination	15 July 2021
		৳5	110 × 65 mm		Grey		Kusumba Mosque		5 January 2017
		৳10	115 × 65 mm		Pink		Baitul Mukarram National Mosque		7 March 2012
		৳20	120 × 65 mm		Green		Sixty Dome Mosque		7 March 2012
		৳50	131 × 65 mm		Orange		Ploughing (Zainul Abedin's painting)		15 December 2019
		৳100	139 × 65 mm		Blue		Star Mosque		9 August 2011
		৳200	139 × 65 mm		Yellow		Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, agriculture in Bangladesh		17 March 2020
		৳500	147 × 65 mm		Cyan		Agriculture in Bangladesh		9 August 2011
		৳1000	155 × 65 mm		Violet		Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban		9 August 2011

Eleventh Series

In September 2024, the Bangladesh Bank announced plans to redesign Taka banknotes by 2025. The central bank’s Currency and Design Advisory Committee , made up of nine members was selected to submit theme proposals to the Ministry of Finance.

Commemorative banknotes

The folder of the banknote for the 40th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh had a spelling error of the name of the country. It was inserted as Bangldesh instead of Bangladesh.

Exchange rates

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Last update: 2015 (December 2023)

Historic exchange rates

Upon Bangladesh's independence, the value of the Bangladeshi taka was set between ৳7.5 and ৳8.0 to US$1. Except for fiscal year 1978, the taka's value relative to the US dollar declined every year from 1971 through the end of 1987. To help offset this phenomenon, Bangladesh first used the compensatory financing facility of the International Monetary Fund in fiscal year 1974. Despite the increasing need for assistance, the Mujib government was initially unwilling to meet the IMF's conditions on monetary and fiscal policy. By fiscal year 1975, however, the government revised its stance, declaring a devaluation of the taka by 56 percent and agreeing to establishing the Bangladesh Aid Group by the World Bank.

Between 1980 and 1983, the taka sustained a decline of some 50 percent because of a deterioration in Bangladesh's balance of payments. Between 1985 and 1987, the taka was adjusted in frequent incremental steps, stabilising again around 12 percent lower in real terms against the US dollar, but at the same time narrowing the difference between the official rate and the preferential secondary rate from 15 percent to 7.5 percent. Accompanying this structural adjustment was an expansion in trade conducted at the secondary rate, to 53 percent of total exports and 28 percent of total imports. In mid-1987, the official rate was relatively stable, approaching less than ৳31 to US$1. In January 2011, US$1 was equivalent to approximately ৳72, as of 21 April 2012, US$1 was worth close to ৳82, and as of 9 September 2015 US$1 valued ৳77.

See also

• Economy of Bangladesh
• The Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd.

References

1. "Inflation". Bangladesh Bank. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022.
2. Devnath, Arun (8 May 2024). "Bangladesh Introduces Crawling Peg for Taka as Rates Raised". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024 – via Financial Post.
3. "taka". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins Publishers. 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
4. "Taka". Banglapedia. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
5. Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "Bangladesh". The Banknote Book. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
6. "Bangladesh new note family confirmed". banknotenews.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
7. "Bangladesh new 10-, 20-, and 50-taka notes confirmed". banknotenews.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
8. "Bangladesh new 40-taka commemorative confirmed". banknotenews.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
9. "Bangladesh new 60-taka commemorative note confirmed". banknotenews.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
10. "Bangladesh new 25-taka commemorative note confirmed". banknotenews.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
11. "Bangladesh new 100-taka commemorative note confirmed". banknotenews.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
12. "Demonetized currency". Bangladesh Bank. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
13. ^ Symes, Peter. "The Bank Notes of Bangladesh – The First Ten Years (Part 1)". P J Symes. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
14. ^ Symes, Peter. "The Bank Notes of Bangladesh – The First Ten Years (Part 2)". P J Symes. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
15. ^ "Notes". Bangladesh Bank. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
16. "Bangladesh banknotes - Bangladesh paper money catalog and Bangladeshi currency history". www.atsnotes.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
17. "বাজারে আসছে নতুন অর্থসচিব স্বাক্ষরিত ২ ও ৫ টাকার নোট". Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
18. https://businesspostbd.com/national/govt-to-redesign-taka-remove-sheikh-mujibs-image
19. https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/banknotes-redesign-likely-without-image-bangabandhu-958491
20. https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/360895/government-plans-major-redesign-of-taka-notes
21. "Bangladesh 40 Taka: P60 v2, BB BNP1a". Banknote Index. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
22. "Open PDF file". Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
23. ^ Lesser, Lawrence B. (1989). "Money and Banking". In Heitzman, James; Worden, Robert (eds.). Bangladesh: A Country Study. Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 108–109. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
24. "Historical Exchange Rates". OANDA. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.

• Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
• Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.

External links

• Bangladesh Bank's page on currencies in circulation Archived 1 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• High resolution scans of Bangladeshi currency
• Historical banknotes of Bangladesh
• 51 Years Of Taka History : Notes In Circulation

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