Today morning I went to do a recording of a brief video message from Prof.M.Anandakrishnan (Former Vice Chancellor Anna University, Advisor INFITT) for Tamil Internet Conference 2010. This got completed earlier than I expected so I had the whole day with me. So I decided to kill time by going to an Exhibition by RBI. As part of its Platinum Jubilee Celebration Reserve Bank of India (RBI) organized an exhibition about its Evolution, History & Functions. The highlight of the exhibition was the display of currency notes from different eras. The exhibition was conducted at Government Museum Campus, Egmore, Chennai for 3 Days (Jan 30-Feb 1).

My expectation of the Exhibition being interesting was slim, but on the contrary, it turned out to be quite informative & interesting. A RBI Officer patiently explained to everyone interested to listen on how Currency Notes have evolved over the years, how to easily deduct fake notes and more. Next time a RBI Exhibition happens in your area, I recommend you visit it with your children.

1) Though there are many ways to deduct fake notes which we all are aware of like watermarks, black thin wire, Gandhi’s reflection at left and right of the note smiling at each other, unique numbering and more we rarely look for them because of an awkward feeling to do so in front of others. Today I learned there to be an easy way to find real RBI note. It is to touch words “Reserve Bank of India” at the top on the front side with your finger, you should feel the letters to be raised a little and to be of a different texture from rest of the surface. This technique has the advantage of being able to be done by us little discreetly and also being friendly to people with poor/zero eye-sight.

Did you know?.
– The ratio of fake notes to real in India is just “8” in One million notes
– Starting April 2010, Polymer currency notes are likely to be introduced in India

1000 Rupee Notes showing Tanjore Big Temple

1000 Rupee Notes showing Tanjore Big Temple

2) On display where currency notes from various periods (Pre Independence and Post Independence) and offices. You can see in this note (Rs.1000) below it says “at any office of issue”. This is because Currency Notes were printed and issued at many places across the country, this one was issued at Karachi, but was valid (which was not the case in the earlier period) across British India.

1000 Rupee Notes, on demand at any office of issue – Karachi & Calcutta

3) From a vending machine outside, I bought few newly released Five Rupee coins showing a smiling Perarignar Anna image.

Perarignar Annadurai Centenary Five Rupee Coin

Perarignar Annadurai Centenary Five Rupee Coin

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