To check fraud, the government plans to change the security features of higher denomination banknotes of Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 500 every 3-4 years in accordance with global standards. The move comes in the wake of recovery of a large amount of fake Indian currency notes in last four months after demonetisation. A close look by the investigators on some of the recently seized fake notes found that at least 11 of the 17 security features in the new Rs. 2,000 notes had been replicated.

These included the transparent area, watermark, Ashoka Pillar emblem, the letters ‘Rs. 2000’ on the left, the guarantee clause with the Reserve Bank of India Governor’s signature and the denomination number in Devanagari on the front, officials said.

The issue was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting on Thursday attended by senior officials of the ministries of Finance and Home, including Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.

Advocating the move, Home Ministry officials said most of the developed countries change security features of their currency notes every 3-4 years and therefore, it is absolutely necessary for India to follow this policy.