RBI to issue Rs 1,000 and Rs 10 notes with rupee symbol

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank today said it will shortly issue Rs 1,000 and Rs 10 notes incorporating the rupee symbol, which was approved last year.

The Indian rupee got an unique symbol -- a blend of the Devanagri 'Ra' and Roman 'R' -- last year joining elite currencies like the US dollar, euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.

The Rs 1,000 notes will be of the Mahatma Gandhi-2005 Series bearing the signature of RBI Governor D Subbarao and with the year of printing mentioned on the back of the banknote, the apex bank said in a statement .

The design of these notes to be issued is similar in all respects to the existing Rs 1,000 in Mahatma Gandhi Series -2005 issued earlier, except for the rupee symbol.

However, all the bank notes in the denomination of Rs 1,000 issued by the RBI in the past will continue to be legal tender.

In another release, the central bank said the new Rs 10 bank notes with the rupee symbol, with the inset letter 'R', will also be released shortly.

The Rs 10 notes will also bear the signature of Subbarao and the year of printing on the back side.

All the bank notes in the denomination of Rs 10 issued by the RBI in the past will continue to be legal tender.

The new symbol, designed by Bombay IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar, was approved in July 2010.