New Rs 500, 2,000 notes have extra security features but no chip

It has features like a see-through register with the denominational numeral 2,000 which can be seen when the note is held up against light

The new Rs 500 banknotes, which will be issued by banks from today, 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 2,000 rupee note, said the Reserve Bank or RBI in a statement, will include 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, which will make it harder to fake. 

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 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 color 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 demonitised 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.