All about 2000 currency note design, security features, controversy, languages

The Indian 2000-rupee banknote (₹2000) is a denomination of the Indian currency. It was revealed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 8 November 2016 after the demonetization of  ₹500 and 1000 bank notes.  is in circulation since 10 November 2016. It is a part of the Mahatma Gandhi New Series of banknotes with a completely new design.

The Indian ₹2000 rupee note is the highest denomination of currency note printed by RBI that is in active circulation, ever since the 10,000 rupee note was demonetised in January 1978. Before the official announcement by RBI, media reported that ₹2000 notes have been printed from the currency printing press in Mysuru by the end of October 2016.

Design of ₹2000 notes

• The ₹2000 banknote of the Mahatma Gandhi New Series is 66 × 166 mm magentacoloured, with the obverse side featuring a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi as well as the Ashoka Pillar Emblem, with a signature of Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel.
• It has the Braille feature to assist the visually challenged in identifying the currency.
• The reverse side features a motif of the Mangalyaan, depicting the India's first interplanetary space mission and the logo and a tag line of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Security features

The ₹2000 banknote has multiple security features, listed below

• See through register with denominational numeral ₹2000
• Latent image with denominational numeral ₹2000
• Micro letters ‘RBI’ and ‘2000’ on the left side of the banknote
• Windowed security thread with inscriptions ‘भारत’, RBI and ₹2000 on banknotes with colour shift.
• Colour of the thread changes from green to blue when the note is tilted
• Guarantee Clause, Governor’s signature with Promise Clause and RBI emblem towards right
• Denominational numeral with Rupee Symbol, ₹2000 in colour changing ink (green to blue) on bottom right
• Ashoka Pillar emblem on the right Mahatma Gandhi portrait and electrotype (2000) watermarks
• Number panel with numerals growing from small to big on the top left side and bottom right side.
• For visually impaired Intaglio (raised printing) of Mahatma Gandhi portrait, Ashoka Pillar emblem, bleed lines and identity mark
• Horizontal rectangle with ₹2000 in raised print on the right
• Seven angular bleed lines on left and right side in raised print (obverse)
• Year of printing of the note on the left (reverse)

Here are the 10 things you need to know about the new 2,000-rupee notes,

1. The new notes will be of the size 66mm X 166mm, smaller than the old notes, and will be available in a magenta base colour.
2. The denominational numeral 2,000 will be written in the Devnagari script and, in micro letters, RBI and 2,000 on the left side of the banknote.
3. The new note will feature a see-through register with denominational numeral 2,000, which will be visible when the currency is held against light.
4. The new denomination will see the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre.
5. To celebrate India’s Mars mission, the notes will carry an image of the Mangalyaan, depicting the country’s first venture into interplanetary space, and the logo and tagline of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The reverse side features a motif of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM).
6. There will be a windowed security thread with the inscriptions ‘Bharat’ (in Devnagari), RBI and 2,000 on banknotes with colour shift.The colour of the thread changes from green to blue when the note is tilted.
7. The guarantee clause, governor’s signature with promise clause and RBI emblem have been shifted to the right in the new notes, with the portrait and electrotype watermarks appearing right next to them.
8. There will be a ashoka pillar emblem to the right of the Mahatma Gandhi portrait and electrotype (2000) watermarks.It will also have seven bleed lines and a rectangle as an identifying shape; as per the RBI guidelines, these are the identification and salient features for the visually impaired.
9. According to sources, the security features of the Rs 2,000 note include latent images, coloured strip security threads and watermarks. The RBI denied the rumours of the notes being embedded with a nano GPS chip, which would have helped locate the position of the currency via a satellite.
10. There will also be a latent image with the denomination numeral that would be visible when the note is held at a 45-degree angle at eye level.

Languages

• As like the other Indian rupee banknotes, the ₹2000 banknote has its amount written in 17 languages.
• On the obverse, the denomination is written in English and Hindi.
• On the reverse is a language panel which displays the denomination of the note in 15 of the 22 official languages of India.
• The languages are displayed in alphabetical order. Languages included on the panel are Assamese, Bengali,Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani,Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi,Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Controversy 

GPS Chip

• The new ₹2000 note was rumoured to be embedded with a 'micro nano GPS chip', which could help track the location of the new rupee via satellite.
• However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley dispelled rumours of the banknote having any such chip.
• Even the Reserve Bank of India clarified that there is no chip.

Spelling error

There was a rumor about an error in the printing of the value of the banknotes in 15 different languages on the reverse of the banknote. "दोन हज़ार रुपये" in Marathi was allegedly written twice instead of once. But it is actually Marathi and Konkani, Hence it is not an error.

There have also been reports of the new banknote having two spelling mistakes in the Urdu lettering. According to Chennai based Urdu scholars, the lettering reads “lo bazaar rupye” (take the rupees to the market) instead of "do hazaar rupye" (two thousand rupees).

Colour Bleeding

• There were reports of the ₹2000 notes running colour when washed.
• This rumour came as a result of multiple videos showing the ₹2000 notes being washed in liquids ranging from water to a aerated drink.
• One of the videos shows some colour left over after the note was washed.
• Economic Affairs Secretary Shantikanta Das said that it was normal for the notes to lose some colour when dissolved in liquid.
• The senior bureaucrat said that intaglio ink used in notes does run a little when washed and said that if one tried it with an old ₹100 note as well, some colour would leak. “In fact if there’s no colour, it’s a sign of fake currency,” he said.