The taka (, , sign: , code: BDT, short form: Tk) is the currency of Bangladesh.
Issuance of banknotes of 10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, while the 2 and 5 government notes are the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance. The government notes of Tk. 2 and Tk. 5 have mostly been replaced by coins, while lower denomination coins (including all poysha coins) up to Tk. 1 have almost gone out of circulation due to inflation.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 ṭaka came from the Sanskrit word ṭaṅka, meaning silver coin, a Kulturwort of unclear origin, related to Turkic təñkə "coin, money", compare Tatar tanka, Uzbek tanga, Kazakh tenge, Russian denʹga. In Bangla, the word taka is also used generically to refer to any form of money, currency, or banknotes. 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 under the One Unit Scheme 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 in 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 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 "" 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 On 4 March 1972, the taka replaced 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 instead 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. 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 the 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 with 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 the front, and six armed men on the back. 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 introduced a 60 note to commemorate "60 years of National Movement". The commemorative note measures and features the Shaheed 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, 2 and 5, were issued in 2013, and 1 was issued in 2014.