No new security features in Rs 2000 currency notes to make them counterfeit-proof

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The pink crispy 2000 rupees notes you must have had a feel of it by now, have hardly any new security features to make them counterfeit-proof.

Some reports earlier had termed the new 500 and 2000 rupee notes as 'high-security' notes. There was a message viral on WhatsApp saying that the new 2000 rupee notes carry a GPS- enabled nano chip making them easy to track, which were later trashed by finance ministry.

Changing the security features is a huge exercise and takes anywhere between five to six years. Quoting a government official, the The Hindu reported that since the decision to introduce the new notes was taken only six months ago, there was no time to alter the security features. Only the design has been changed but the security features remain the same as the old notes.

Explaining the features of the new 2000 rupee notes, the Reserve Bank has released several features like a see-through register with the denominational numeral 2,000 which can be seen when the note is held up against light.

It also said that there will also be a latent image with the denominational numeral 2,000, which can be seen when the bank note is held at a 45 degree angle at the eye level.   

The note will also have a colour-shifting windowed security thread with the inscription' Bharat', RBI and 2,000. The colour of the thread will change from green to blue when the note is tilted.

For the visually-impaired, there will a raised print of Mahatma Gandhi's portrait, the Ashoka Pillar emblem, bleed lines and identity marks.

The RBI said the 2,000 rupees notes have a motif of the Mangalayan, India's Mars mission and the base colour is magenta.

These may be the new features of the note, which may not make them counterfeit-proof.

The raw notes of 2000 rupees were produced in India and printed in the Bank Note Paper Mill India Private Limited (BNPMIPL) in Mysuru.

The last time security features were changes in the currency in India, which included water marks, security threads, fibre, latent image etc. Was done in 2005.

Even Pakistan which produces counterfeit Indian currency in government press and flood Indian markets with fake currency, would be able to reproduce the notes, as security features remain the same.