New Rs 1,000 banknotes with enhanced security features to be released soon

The Reserve Bank of India, according to media reports, will introduce new Rs 1,000 banknotes in a few months time. It was also reported that the RBI may allow citizens another chance to exchange the scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. However, the sum for any such exchanges may have certain limitations.

According to a report in the Deccan Herald, the new Rs 1,000 note is likely to come with enhanced security features and in a size smaller than its predecessor. The government had, in December, said that it would take a few months to issue the new notes in the 1,000-rupee denomination. The process of issuing the new notes is in progress and has been expedited owing to the difficulties people face with the availability of only the new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes.

According to another media report in The Hindustan Times, the RBI is mulling the decision to open another window to exchange the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. Following the increasing number of requests and queries from “genuine people,” the report said that the central bank may announce the decision soon. The deadline for exchanging of old demonetised currency was December 30, 2016.

The RBI also recently brought relief to many by increasing the withdrawal limit to Rs 10,000. The withdrawal limit has been increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 10,000 per card per day. The RBI circular also mentioned that the withdrawal limit for current accounts has been increased from Rs 50,000 per week to Rs 100,000.

Since the government announced the demonetisation on November 8, old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes have ceased to be legal tender, and have been replaced with new high denomination notes. The printing of Rs 500 notes has reportedly gone up threefold in December. The look and feel of the lower denomination currency notes of Rs 100 and Rs 50, meanwhile, has remained the same.

The new Rs 500 banknotes already carried extra security features besides the new size, theme, and colour. The new Rs 2,000 notes are 66mmX166mm in size, which is smaller than the old notes, and have the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre. To celebrate India’s Mars mission, the new Rs 2,000 notes carry an image of Mangalyaan. They also carry the logo and tagline of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Since the demonetisation, ATM withdrawal limits have moved from Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,500. This shift to Rs 10,000 will come as a relief for citizens, who have been trying to negotiate the difficulties a cash crunch of this magnitude poses.