RBI to issue star series banknotes

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue star series of banknotes, which, to begin with will be in Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 50 denominations in the Mahatma Gandhi series-2005.

The star series banknotes will look exactly like the existing banknotes but will have an additional character of star in the number panel between the prefix and the serial number.

Consequently, some fresh banknote packets issued by the RBI may contain some notes having a star in the number panel in the space between the prefix and the number, the central bank said in a release on Thursday.

The bands of the packets containing the star series number will clearly indicate the presence of such banknotes in the packets, the RBI stated.

As part of the ongoing efforts to benchmark its procedures to international best practices, as also for cost effectiveness and greater operational efficiency at note printing presses, the RBI has adopted the star series numbering system for replacement of defectively printed banknotes.