Reserve Bank of India to issue new batch of Rs 500 notes with inset letter "A"

The Reserve Bank of India is issuing a new batch of Rs 500 notes (under the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series) with inset letter “A” in both the number panels, the central bank said in a press release on Tuesday. It will bear the signature of Governor Urjit Patel, with the year of printing ‘2017’ on the reverse, the release said. [caption id=“attachment_3581785” align=“alignleft” width=“385”]  Representational image[/caption] According to the release, the design of these notes is similar in all respects to the Rs 500 notes in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series which were first notified 8 November 2016, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. The new Rs 500 notes that were issued after the demonetisation (in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series with inset letter ‘E’) are different from the old notes in colour, size, theme, location of security features and design elements. The size of the new notes is 66 mm x150 mm and the colour is stone grey. It also has an image of Red Fort – an Indian heritage site with Indian flag on the reverse. The note also has features (intaglio printing of Mahatma Gandhi portrait, Ashoka Pillar emblem, bleed lines, circle with Rs 500 in the right, and the identification mark) which enable the visually impaired person to identify the denomination.