New Delhi, March 8 (IANS): The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) here on Sunday wrote to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the possibility of spread of coronavirus through currency notes and urged her to take the required steps.

It also urged the government to introduce policies for promoting alternative modes of payment and look at the possibilities of using polymer notes.

"Various credible studies have revealed that currency notes carry major risk of containing various virus, which may lead to number of infectious diseases. In the wake of coronavirus and for other precautionary reasons, we request you to order 'a larger investigation' to assess the chances of diseases spreading via notes," said CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.

Although due precautions had been taken, avoidance of cash usage couldn't be avoided and thus could become one of the most easiest carriers for spread of virus. "Immediate steps should be taken to check spread of a virus through notes," it said.

"We would like to suggest that countries like the UK, Australia and Canada have switched to polymer notes to reduce the risk of spreading infections through currency. Therefore, the possibilities of usage of polymer notes in India should also be examined," it said.