As RBI Governor he strongly opposed the nationalising of private banks in India,[4] by writing a letter to the then Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai warning about the costs of nationalising the banks saying it was not desirable.[4] During his tenure the size of the currency notes of denomination 5, 10 and 100 were reduced in size for economic reasons.[5]
The banknotes signed by P C Bhattacharya have very high resale value in the grey market because of their rarity. A 10 rupee note signed by Bhattacharya fetches 800 to 1000 rupees today.[6] During his tenure as Governor of RBI, the size of the bank notes of Rs 5, 10 and 100 denominations had been reduced to cut cost of production, which make these notes relatively rare in the collectors market.