RBI announces it will issue new Rs 50 and Rs 20 notes, old notes to be valid

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank today said it will issue new currency notes of Rs 20 and Rs 50 denominations with numerals in ascending size in the number panels and without intaglio printing.

The old notes of Rs 20 and Rs 50 will remain legal tender.

These new notes come against the backdrop of government last month scrapping Rs 500/1000 currency notes to crack down on black money.

"The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs 20 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, Reserve Bank of India, 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 Rs 20 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 Rs 20 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.

About Rs 50 notes RBI said, "The Reserve Bank will shortly issue Rs 50 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 Rs 50 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 Rs 50 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender, it added.