Wondering If Those Rs 500 Notes With A Star (*) Symbol Are Fake?

A viral message claiming that Rs 500 notes with a star (*) symbol in the number panel are fake has caused confusion and concern for the past two to three days. The post claims that any Rs 500 note with a 'star' mark in the number panel is a fake note.

When OneIndia searched to check the veracity of the claim made in the post, we found that RBI had introduced an additional character '*'(star) mark in the number panel of new Rs 500/- denomination banknotes in December 2016. RBI had also released a press note on 16 December 2016 regarding the issuing of new Rs 500/- denomination notes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) series with the inset letter 'E' having a 'star' mark in the number panel.

In a statement of the press note, RBI said, "Some of the captioned banknotes will have an additional character '*' (star) in the number panel in the space between the prefix and the number. Packets containing these notes will have 100 pieces as usual but not in serial order. To facilitate easy identification of note packets containing 'star' notes the bands on such packets will clearly indicate the presence of these notes in the packet. 'Star' banknotes in ₹ 500 denomination are being issued for the first time."

These 'star' banknotes in the denomination of Rs. 10/-, Rs. 20/-, Rs. 50/- and Rs. 100/- are already in circulation since 2006. The rationale and the scheme of the introduction of 'Star' banknotes were detailed in a press release issued by the RBI on 19 April 2006. From all these pieces of evidence, it can be concluded that Rs 500/- banknotes with a 'star' mark in the number panel are legal tender, not fake notes as claimed in the post.

To sum it up, Rs 500/- denomination banknotes with a 'star' mark in the number panel are legal tender, not fake notes as claimed in the post.

The Fact-Check Unit of the Press Information Bureau, which operates under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has also confirmed that the claim stating star-marked Rs 500 notes are fake is false. They clarified that these notes have been in circulation since December 2016 and are legal tender.