₹10 Note Life: The Silent Engine of India's Informal Economy
Mayank Singhal
1/9
💸 A ₹10 note is poor man's UPI.
Ignored by banks, worshipped by sabziwalas, folded 1000 times — never replaced.
This is the secret life of India's most hardworking note.
2/9
🛠️ ₹10 is born in RBI's printing presses — not plastic, but cotton-soaked cloth.
It's printed with care…
Only to end up crushed in someone's blouse or autorickshaw dashboard.
3/9
🏦 It enters circulation through banks — but here's the twist:
ATMs hate ₹10 notes.
They jam machines, take too much space, and aren't "cost-effective."
So guess where they go?
Your local chai tapri.
4/9
🍵 From mandis to metro trains, this note is everywhere.
Chai stalls, paan shops, school canteens.
It flows where QR codes don't.
Not flashy — but functional.
5/9
🔁 Vendors prefer ₹10 notes.
Digital is great, but what if signal's gone? Or the uncle doesn't know how to "scan"?
₹10 is instant. Tangible. Trustable.
It makes small biz run without any app update.
6/9
📉 Everyone talks about UPI.
But ₹10 cash demand is RISING.
India is short by 500+ crore notes.
Even RBI brought back ₹10 coins — people still don't like them.
They want the note. Not the metal.
7/9
🖊️ ₹10 isn't just money.
It's a notepad. A bookmark. A message board.
People scribble grocery lists, phone numbers, even mantras on it.
No other object carries such casual intimacy.
8/9
♻️ After 3–5 years, the note dies.
Banks sort them. RBI shreds them.
No recycling. Just quiet disappearance.
No one thanks it.
But for years, it held India's informal economy together.
9/9
💥 In the battle between code and cash, ₹10 survives not because it's smart —
But because it's understood.
It's not "legacy."
It's infrastructure.
A living, breathing node in India's daily trade.