RBI to issue new Rs20 and Rs50 notes, old notes to remain legal tender

The new Rs20 and Rs50 notes come against the backdrop of the government last month scrapping Rs500 and Rs1000 currency notes to crack down on black money

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Sunday said it will issue new currency notes of Rs20 and Rs50 denominations with numerals in ascending size in the number panels and without intaglio printing. The old notes of Rs20 and Rs50 will remain legal tender. These new notes come against the backdrop of the government last month scrapping Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency notes to crack down on black money. “The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs20 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, with inset letter ‘L’ in both the number panels, bearing signature of Dr Urjit R. Patel, governor, RBI, and the year of printing ‘2016’ printed on the reverse of the banknote,” RBI said in a statement. The design and security features of these banknotes will be similar to the banknotes of Rs20 denomination with the ascending font of numerals in both the number panels and without intaglio print issued earlier in Mahatma Gandhi Series- 2005, it said. RBI also said that all the banknotes in the denomination of Rs20 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender. About Rs50 notes the RBI said, “The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs50 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005, without inset letter in both the number panels, bearing signature of Dr. Urjit R. Patel, governor, Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing ‘2016’ printed on the reverse of the banknote.” It said that the design and security features of these banknotes will be similar to the banknotes of Rs50 denomination with the ascending font of numerals in both the number panels and without intaglio print issued earlier in Mahatma Gandhi Series- 2005. All the banknotes in the denomination of Rs50 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender, it added. PTI