Thematic design ideas for new banknote series to be submitted till March 11: Qadir Bakhsh

ISLAMABAD: Director Finance of the State Bank of Pakistan Qadir Bakhsh on Wednesday said that the SBP was organising an art competition to develop innovative and thematic design ideas for new banknotes where local artists, designers and art students would submit their final designs by March 11.

Talking to a private news channel, he said that the final designs would be submitted to the federal government for approval and the process of issuing the new series of banknotes would involve a number of steps, adding that cash prizes would be awarded to the top three entries in each of the current seven denominations.

The director explained that after the art competition, the selected design ideas and themes would be shared with professional banknote designers chosen through a competitive process, the official news agency reported.

These designers would then develop the final printable designs for each denomination, he said, adding that the completed designs were going to be submitted to the federal government for approval.

Replying a question, he said launching a new banknote series would involve several steps and stages, requiring careful planning and coordination among multiple stakeholders, adding that typically this process would take 2 to 3 years, but the SBP intends to complete it within the next 2 years.

He said a jury of respected artists would evaluate the designs and recommend the top six designs for each denomination to the SBP.

The top three designs for each denomination would receive prizes of Rs1,000,000, Rs500,000 and Rs300,000, respectively, he added.

The participants must ensure that their designs were free from copyright claims and liabilities, he mentioned.

The complete information about the art competition could be accessed at https://www.sbp.org.pk/ArtCompetition/ArtCompetition.pdf, he added.