RBI has not accepted any proposal to have images of Tagore, Abdul Kalam or Shivaji alongside Mahatma Gandhi on the new currency notes - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 1, 2022
Update (01 November 2022)
Another post is being shared on Instagram claiming that the government has accepted a proposal to include the photo of Chhatrapati Shivaji on the Rs. 200 note. However, as noted below, no such proposal has been mooted or approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Hence, the claim is FALSE.
Original Fact-check (07 June 2022)
A photo through a post is being widely shared on social media claiming that RBI accepted the proposal to have the images of Tagore and Abdul Kalam alongside Mahatma Gandhi on the new currency notes. Let us fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: RBI accepted the proposal to have the images of Tagore and Abdul Kalam alongside Mahatma Gandhi on the new currency notes.
Fact: RBI issued a press release clarifying that there would be no change in existing currency and banknotes. There is no such proposal considering changes to the existing currency by replacing the face of Mahatma Gandhi by the Reserve Bank of India. There were reports that the RBI might consider using the images of Tagore and Abdul Kalam alongside Mahatma Gandhi on the new currency notes. But RBI clarified that there were no such proposals yet. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
Whenever the RBI releases new notes, it notifies the public regarding the same through circulars on its website. The RBI’s official website has no recent posts about the new currency in the press release section which can be seen here. The list of notes that are in circulation is provided in the ‘Know Your Bank Notes’ section of RBI’s website, and the rupee notes in the post does not match with any of the notes on the website.
RBI issued a press release clarifying that there would be no change in existing currency and banknotes. There is no such proposal considering changes to the existing currency by replacing the face of Mahatma Gandhi by the Reserve Bank of India. There were reports that the RBI might consider using the images of Tagore and Abdul Kalam alongside Mahatma Gandhi on the new currency notes. But RBI clarified that there were no such considerations.
If there were new 500-rupee notes with the picture of Subhash Chandra Bose, and new 2000-rupee notes with the picture of Sardar Patel, Reserve Bank of India would have notified it on its website. There were no such press releases in the RBI website. The latest 500-rupee note, and 2000-rupee note were printed way back in 2016. The Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series (MGNS) was introduced in the year 2016 when demonetisation was announced by the Prime Minister.
To sum it up, RBI did not accept any proposal to have the images of Tagore and Abdul Kalam alongside Mahatma Gandhi on the new currency notes recently.