Bangladesh’s currency “taka” which turns 50 was born in India

As Bangladesh’s local currency-taka-turned 50, India has memories to cherish. The country’s local currency which was launched on March 4, 1972, was first printed in India at the Security Printing Press. As Bangladesh gained its independence after the brutal Liberation War with Pakistan, it rejected the Pakistani rupee, though it was in use for a few months even after the war…writes

Currently, the taka is pegged at about 85.74 to a dollar. The national currency became the reflection of a sovereign state.

Interestingly, Bangladesh has been using its currency notes which bear the picture of Banganadhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to reflect its life and society as well. The currency notes have prints of boats, fishermen, farmers portraying the country’s soul. Bangladeshi currency notes also depict mosques and architectural structures on them.

“Money is one language that everyone, whether s/he is educated or not, understands. So currencies are a great medium of communication and that’s why we find certain messages and images on the notes,” The Achia Khanom Likhon, the curator of Taka Museum of the capital said, the Business Standard (Bangladesh) quoted Achia Khanom Likhon, the curator of Taka Museum as saying.

For Bangladesh, which has an export driven economy, the currency and its value are of immense importance, especially at a time when inflationary pressures are building across the world with the Russia-Ukraine crisis intensifying. Global crude oil prices have surged in the last one month.

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Meanwhile, the country’s Central Bank has been actively involved in maintaining the right value for the taka for it to remain competitive in the export market.

For the last 10 years, the country’s economy has been growing at over 6 per cent. In 2019, it even touched 8.1 per cent. And now Bangladesh is preparing to exit the United Nations’ Least Developed Countries (LDC) list by 2026.

“We are going through a very volatile period and uncertainties in the post Covid 19 pandemic period have only aggravated. The central banks will have to keep a close watch over their respective currencies at this crucial time,” an analyst told India Narrative.

Incidentally, taka is the Bengali word for currency notes and the same term is used by the people of West Bengal.