Indian rupee

 
The Indian rupees (Devanagari: रुपया) (sign: ; code: INR) is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.^[1]
The modern rupee is theoretically subdivided into 100 paise (singular paisa) though this division is purely symbolic; as of 30 June 2011, 50 paise will be the minimum coin accepted in the markets as all denominations below it will cease to be legal currency.^[2][3] Bank notes are available in nominal values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupees. Coins of the rupee have nominal values of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25 and 50 paise as well as 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupees. The Indian rupee symbol is derived from the Devanagari consonant "र" (Ra) with an added horizontal bar. It is also derived from the Latin consonant "R" without the vertical line, with added two horizontal bars, (similar in comparison with Yen and Euro symb

Banknotes

British India, 1861–1947

In 1861, the Government of India introduced its first paper money, 10 rupee in 1864, 5 rupees in 1872, 10,000 rupees in 1899, 100 rupees in 1900, 50 rupees in 1905, 500 rupees in 1907 and 1000 rupees in 1909. In 1917, 1 and 2½ rupees notes were introduced. The Reserve Bank of India began note production in 1938, issuing 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 1000 and 10000 rupee notes, while the Government continued to issue 1 rupee notes.

Independent issues since 1949

                 
After independence, new designs were introduced to remove the portrait of the King. The government continued to issue the 1 rupee note, while the Reserve Bank issued other denominations, including the 5000 and 10,000 rupee notes introduced in 1949. In the 1970s, 20 and 50 rupee notes were introduced but denominations higher than 100 rupees were demonetized in 1978. In 1987, the 500 rupee note was introduced, followed by the 1000 rupees in 2000. 1 Rupee and 2 rupees notes were discontinued in 1995. 5 Rupees note will be discontinued shortly. Conisation of notes till Rs. 20 is being planned.
In September 2009, the Reserve Bank of India decided to introduce polymer notes (polymer banknote) on a trial basis. Initially, 100 crore (1 billion) pieces of 10 denomination notes will be introduced.^[20] According to the Reserve Bank officials, the polymer notes will have an average lifespan of 5 years (4 times the regular Indian bank notes) and will be difficult to counterfeit. They would also be cleaner than the regular notes.

Currently circulating notes

The design of banknotes is approved by the Central Government on the recommendations of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India.^[1] Currency notes are printed at the Currency Note Press, Nashik, Bank Note Press, Dewas, Bharatiya Note Mudra Nigam (P) Limited presses at Salboni and Mysore and at the Watermark Paper Manufacturing Mill, Hoshangabad.
The current series of banknotes, which began in 1996, is called the Mahatma Gandhi series. At present, banknotes are issued in the denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000. Printing of 5 notes which had stopped earlier restarted in 2009. ATMs usually give out 100, 500, and 1000 notes. The Zero rupee note is not an official government issue but a symbol of protest and it is printed and distributed by an NGO in India.

languages

Each banknote has its amount written in 15 languages. On the obverse side, the denomination is written in English and Hindi. On the reverse of each note is a language panel that displays the denomination of the note in 15 of the 22 official languages of India. The languages are displayed in the alphabetical order. The languages included on the panel are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.^[6]

Security features

The main security features of the current banknotes are listed below:

• Watermark - White side panel of notes has Mahatma Gandhi watermark.
• Security thread - All notes have a silver security band with inscriptions visible when held against light which reads Bharat in Hindi and RBI in English.
• Latent image - On notes with denominations of 20 and upwards, a vertical band on the right side of the Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait contains a latent image showing the respective denominational value in numeral which is visible only when the note is held horizontally at eye level.
• Microlettering - Numeral denominational value is visible under magnifying glass between security thread and latent image.
• Intaglio - On notes with denominations of 10 and upwards, the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, the Reserve Bank seal, guarantee and promise clause, Ashoka Pillar Emblem on the left, RBI Governor's signature are printed in intaglio i.e. in raised prints.
• Identification Mark - On the left of the watermark window different shapes are printed in Intaglio for various denominations (20 - Vertical Rectangle, 50 - Square, 100 - Triangle, 500 - Circle, 1000 - Diamond). This also helps the visually impaired to identify the denomination.
• Fluorescence - Number panels glow under ultra-violet light.
• Optically variable ink - Notes of 500 and 1000 have their numerals printed in optically variable ink. Number appears green when note is held flat but changes to blue when viewed at angle.
• See through Register - Floral design printed on the front and the back of the note coincides and perfectly overlap each other when viewed against light.
• EURion constellation - A pattern of symbols found on the banknote helps software detect the presence of a banknote in a digital image so that it can prevent its reproduction with devices such as color photocopiers.