VIJAYAWADA: Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi has gone missing in the currency notes of Rs 10 denomination believed to have been printed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the recent past. The bank notes without Gandhi's image posted on the RBI's official website caused a flutter among the people.
TOI has received several phone calls from netizens from as far-off places as Kurnool with the callers seeking to know the reasons for the RBI's striking departure from the Gandhian legacy in printing and circulation of the currency notes.
The RBI has started printing and issuing bank notes in the Mahatma Gandhi series since 1996. The note in Rs 5 denomination was printed in 2001, Rs 10 in June 1996, Rs 20 in 2001, Rs 100 in June 1996, Rs 500 in October 1997 and Rs 1,000 in November 2000. All the bank notes of these series carry the Gandhi's portrait on the obverse (front) side in place of symbol of lion mark capital of Ashoka pillar which has also been retained and shifted to the left side next to the water mark window.
Therefore, these bank notes contain Mahatma Gandhi water mark and Mahatma Gandhi portrait as well. The Rs 10 note carries Gandhi's image on the obverse side while that of fauna on the reverse side and it is one of the first notes introduced by the RBI in Mahatma Gandhi series in 1996.
In the latest notes, there is only the lion mark capital of Ashoka pillar. Disputing the claims of the bankers in Vijayawada and Hyderabad that they have not received the particular bank notes from the issue department of the RBI, a businessman Venkateswara Rao from Kurnool told TOI that he had received one such currency note from a shopper in an exhibition in his native town. "I obviously grew suspicious upon seeing the note without Gandhi's image. When I showed it to the local State Bank of India officials, they said it was an original note only. The note bears the pin marks indicating that it came out from a pinned currency bundle issued by a nationalized bank", he said.
R Govind Rao, general manager, RBI, Hyderabad, when contacted, feigned ignorance and advised that details could be sought from the central office. A senior official in RBI said that they were not aware of the new bank notes printed without Gandhi's portrait. "The Rs 10 note is under circulation since colonial times and is in continuous production since the RBI took over the functions of the controller of currency in 1923. The notes you are referring to could be belonging to the earlier period", said the RBI officer, not wishing to be named.
However, a close look at the Rs 10 bank notes in the Gandhi's series printed from 1996 and those of the earlier period did not have identical features.
Interestingly, the notes in the Gandhi's series and those without his image match each other in appearance and designing only to the exception of his portrait.
Gandhi's photo missing from Rs 10 note - The Times of India
