New Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 Notes: A Visual History of RBI Governors' Signatures on Indian Currency Notes

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posted on 8 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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The new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes bear the signature of RBI governor Urjit Patel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sprung up a surprise at the nation announcing the demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. This measure, according to the government, will help combat black money, corruption and terror-financing. The next step in the government's demonitisation exercise was the introduction of new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 denomination banknotes.

The new Indian currency notes are quite distinct from older notes and come in a new slimmer size and an altogether new design. However, some of the older characteristic elements such as the image of Mahatma Gandhi, the Gandhi watermark, the security thread and language panel still exist.

It is interesting to note that in the new notes the image of Mahatma Gandhi is a mirror image of that in earlier notes. Gandhi in the older notes was looking to the left, but in the new he is seen facing the right.

Another distinctive feature of the new currency notes is that they bear the signature of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urjit R Patel, who took over from his predecessor Raghuram G Rajan on September 4, 2016.

The tradition of the RBI governor's signature featuring on currency notes is a long one and goes back to James Braid Taylor, the second governor of the RBI. His term as the governor was from July 1, 1937 to February 17, 1943.

The first RBI governor Osborne Smith (April 1, 1935 to June 30, 1937) didn't sign any banknotes. Also the signature of the fifth governor, KG Ambegaonkar (January 14, 1957 to February 28, 1957), does not feature on any notes issued by the RBI. This is because Ambegaokar was an interim governor for a short duration. Though, Ambegaokar's signature did feature on Re 1 notes as the finance secretary.

How did the different signatures of the RBI governors look on Indian currency notes over the years? We take you back in time on a currency time machine.

Signatures of RBI governors on Indian currency notes