New Delhi, September 1: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a new Rs 100 currency note this year. The new note contains some new features and is now being circulated in the economy. Meanwhile, the RBI’s annual report for the financial year, 2018 revealed that the old Rs 100 note was the most counterfeited Indian currency after the demonetisation. According to the report, around 46% of counterfeit currencies detected by banks in the year ended March 31, 2018, was of ₹100 denomination, while fake notes of ₹2,000 and ₹500 put together were at 29%.

However, before demonetisation Rs 500 notes were the most counterfeited currency notes. In FY17, 41 percent of the fake currency notes detected by the RBI were of Rs 500. The demonetisation had put brakes on the fake currency. In the previous annual report, there was a decrease of around 31 percent in FY17. However, instead of this decrease, there was a rise of 35 percent of the fake currency of denomination of Rs 100.

The report also revealed that there was a hike of 154 percent in counterfeit notes detected in the denomination of Rs 50. After the introduction of new rs 500 and Rs 2000 currency notes the fake notes detected by the RBI increased to 9,892 and 17,929, respectively, from 199 and 638 in the previous year. According to media reports, in 2017-18, 522,783 counterfeit notes were detected in the banking system, of which commercial banks detected 63.9 percent.

The size of the new currency note of rs 100 is 66mm x 142 mm and has the signature of RBI governor Urjit Patel. The old currency will still be a valid tender. ‘RBI’, ‘Bharat’ watermark can be seen on the note when exposed to light. The new Rs 100 currency note is lavender in colour. It also contains Swachh Bharat Abhiyan logo at the back along with the slogan. On the front of the new note, there is a picture of Mahatma Gandhi. It has a picture of ancient Rani Ka Bav on its rear.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 01, 2018 11:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).