10 Paise

India's shift to aluminium-magnesium coinage in the early 1970s was driven largely by the rising cost of the cupro-nickel alloys previously used, combined with chronic small-denomination shortages in rural circulation. The Reserve Bank faced persistent complaints that low-value coins were simply vanishing from the economy — hoarded, melted, or lost — and the lighter, cheaper aluminium blanks were a direct policy response to that problem.

The 26mm diameter made these among the larger aluminium coins in circulation globally for their value, and the alloy's softness meant heavy wear accumulated quickly in active use. Examples from the final years of the series, 1981–1982, tend to survive in better condition as the denomination had largely lost practical utility by then.