Security Features on Rupee Notes
While the advent of UPI technology has reduced the need for cash in India, it is still a very important part of our economy. Cash is the most liquid form of asset we have, and it is only cash that can be used for sudden transactions associated with both needs and wants.
Cash is readily available to citizens, there is ease of transactions and there is no additional cost to the general public when they use cash, as opposed to other payment modes other than UPI. But even with UPI, issues of connectivity of bank servers or the internet can pose problems.
So cash in the economy needs to be secure and very difficult to counterfeit. Let’s understand how that works with the example of the Rs 500 note.
Front or Obverse side (from left to right):
See-through register with the numeral 500 denominating the value of the note (the two whitish lines on bottom left)
Latent image with numeral 500 (the hashed out block on bottom left)
Numeral 500 in Devnagari (the vertically aligned number)
Portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre
Micro letters Bharat (in Devnagari) and India
Colour shift windowed security thread with inscriptions Bharat (in Devnagari), and 'RBI. The colour of the thread changes from green to blue when the note is tilted
Guarantee clause, the Governor's signature with a Promise Clause and RBI’s emblem (on the right of the security thread)
Mahatma Gandhi's Portrait and numeral 50 0 (watermarks on the right side of the note that appears to be blank space)
Number panel with numerals in ascending font (top left and bottom right)
Numeral 500 with Rupee Symbol in (₹500) in colour changing ink between green and blue (bottom right)
Ashoka pillar ember (on the right)
Intaglio or raised printing of the Mahatma Gandhi portrait (4), Ashoka pillar emblem (11), circular identification mark with micro text ₹500 on the right, five angular bleed lines on both the left and right sides. This feature is to assist the visually impaired majorly (the horizontal lines near the top right)
Back or Reverse side (from left to right)
The year of printing of the note (top left)
Swachh Bharat logo (bottom left)
Language Panel (the vertical block in the middle)
Red Fort Motif (background)
Numeral 500 in Devnagari (on top)
Now that we know the security features employed to protect us from fraud, it is our own responsibility to not be fooled, at least by cheap fakes. Obviously, there can be fake notes that are indistinguishable unless examined by experts (called supernotes), but unless that is the case, we should hold our own against counterfeiters. And you need not remember everything, just take note of some of the features you can check quickly and be sure for yourself.
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