Variation in new notes a printing mistake; new Rs 500, 2000 legal: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sought to allay concerns about variations in the new bank notes, after an Economic Times report said that some residents of Gurugram had found differences in the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes. 

According to the report, a resident found a difference in the size of the margin around the Rs 500 note and variations is the alignment of the emblem. A resident of Mumbai found that the colour shade of two Rs 2,000 notes was different. 

In a Hindustan Times, a RBI spokesperson was quoted as saying, "Such a printing deficiency can happen once in a million. It is a valid legal tender and can be freely used in transactions."

However, if a person wished to return the banknote to the RBI, that could be done too. 

Variations in bank notes would make it easy to produce counterfeit currency notes, defeating the very purpose of the demonetization move. The Narendra Modi government decommissioned the use of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8 (midnight) in a bid to clampdown on black money and terror funding. The new Rs 500 and Rs 2000 notes were put into circulation in the days following the move.