In a bid to gradually move people away from using cash to cards, and to ensure that later versions with enhanced security features are in circulation, the Reserve Bank of India has announced withdrawal of currency notes issued before 2005. The move comes months after RBI announced that plastic notes would be introduced on a trial basis. At least seven countries are already using plastic notes. Last December, The New York Times reported that one of the biggest inventions, currency note, is on the decline as the British pound, printed on paper for 300 years, will now be made from plastic, which is harder to counterfeit.