New Rs 500 note introduced, old notes will stay valid

The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a new batch of Rs 500 notes with the inset letter 'A." The older notes would stay valid, the RBI has confirmed.

The design of the new Rs 500 note is similar in all respects to the Rs 500 banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (new) series. The RBI has made it clear that those Rs 500 notes introduced after demonetisation will remain valid.

The note will bear the signature of RBI Governor Dr. Urjit R. Patel with the year of printing '2017' on the reverse.

Key features of the Rs 500 note:

The main features of the Rs 500 banknotes are - size is 66mm x150mm, colour is stone grey, Red Fort-an image of Indian heritage site with Indian flag on the reverse.

The banknote also has these features:

• Intaglio printing of Mahatma Gandhi portrait
• Ashoka Pillar emblem, bleed lines
• Circle with Rs 500 in the right
• The identification mark which enable the visually impaired person to identify the denomination.

The announcement comes after after RBI Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan in March had said that the central bank did not have any plan to introduce new denomination currencies. Vishwanathan had said that the central banking institution wanted to encourage people to opt for cashless transactions.

Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal had also informed Parliament that the Narendra Modi government was not planning to print Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 currency notes.

On December 16 last, RBI had announced that it would issue Rs 500 notes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) series with the inset letter E in both the number panels. The notes will also bear Swachh Bharat logo printed on the reverse of the banknote, it had said.RBI had also noted that some of the captioned banknotes would have an additional character * (star) in the number panel in the space between the prefix and the number.

This news comes in the backdrop of the new Re 1 note being printed. The one rupee note shall conform to the dimensions and composition as specified in the first schedule the Ministry of Finance has said.

Further it is stated that the standard paper weight and remedy allowed in the printing of the Re 1 note shall be specified as per the Third Schedule. The note shall be printed at the note printing press for issue under the government of India for circulation, the ministry has also stated.

OneIndia News