2017-04-10 Mon

There have been reports that the Government of India plans to change security features of Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 500 every 3-4 years. This is because a lot of fake money was seized within four months post demonetization. The matter was discussed by senior ministers on Thursday where they said that most developed countries change security features every 3 to 4 years and India should follow suit.

Rs. 1,000 notes were introduced in 2000 and no changes were made to it since then until demonetization. Similarly, changes to the Rs. 500 note, which was launched in 1987, were introduced only almost 10 years ago.

The new notes after demonetization had no additional security features. At least 11 of the 17 security features in the new Rs. 2,000 notes had been replicated by counterfeiters. ‘Chandrayaan’, the ‘Swachh Bharat’ logo and the year of printing were copied. The print and paper quality of fake notes was poor but they looked very real. Officials said that changing security features once in 3-4 years is crucial for putting an end to counterfeiting activities. There are reports that fake notes were printed in Pakistan with the help of ISI and were smuggled through Bangladesh.