New Rs 500, 2,000 notes designed with enhanced security features

The new Rs 500 banknotes, which will be issued by banks from Friday, have extra security features besides having peculiar colour, theme and size which differentiate the new bills from the earlier series.

The Rs 2,000 notes, which are being introduced for the first time, will be of magenta colour with Mangalayan imprinted on the reverse side. The higher value currency notes will have other designs, geometric patterns aligning with the overall colour scheme both on the obverse and reverse.

"The new denomination has motif of the Mangalayan on the reverse, depicting the country's first venture in interplanetary space," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The Rs 500 banknotes will be stone grey in colour with a predominant new theme of the Indian heritage site Red Fort.

The RBI is introducing new design banknotes in the denomination of Rs 2,000 as part of Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series.

The government on Tuesday had demonetised the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes as part of its efforts to clamp down against the black money, fake currency and terror financing.