Two variations of the Rs 500 notes issued by the Reserve Bank of India have been encountered in the market. According to a report in The Times of India, this could add to confusion as well as counterfeiting of the currency.
People find it difficult already to understand all features of an official note and fail to check for everything before they accept one. Now, if there are too many versions of the official note, slipping in another would be easier than otherwise.An IPS Officer
The report cited the example of three case studies where two different versions of the note were found.
Abshar, a resident of Delhi, pointed out the discrepancies.
There is more than a visible shadow of Gandhi’s face, besides alignment issues with the national emblem on the note and even serial numbers.Abshar
In another case study, a resident from Mumbai stated that the notes were of two different colours.
Responding to this, an RBI spokesperson said to TOI:
It is likely that notes with printing defects have got released due to the current rush. However, people can freely accept such a note in transaction or return it to RBI.Alpana Killawala, RBI Spokesperson
Rush to Print New Prints
Owing to the cash rush, the Centre has rushed teams to Nashik (Maharashtra) and Dewas (Madhya Pradesh) – the two locations where new currency notes are printed. The step has been taken in an attempt to fight the cash crunch in the country, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The press employees and other related professionals have been promised financial incentives to encourage them to work extra hours.
In addition to these two places, new notes are to be printed in Mysuru (Karnataka) and Salboni (West Bengal).
(With inputs from The Times of India and The Indian Express.)
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