Take note: RBI goofs up, invalid notes in circulation

In an embarrassing goof-up, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued currency notes in 2014 carrying the signature of its former governor D Subbarao, who retired last year.

The next time you withdraw money from your ATM, you could well get currency notes that are not valid.

In an embarrassing goof-up, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued currency notes in 2014 carrying the signature of its former governor D Subbarao, who retired last year.

HT could not ascertain the exact denomination and total value of these flawed currency notes but sources said they are high denomination notes.

“These notes are not legal tender as they carry the signature of a retired RBI governor. To be valid, they ought to have carried current RBI chief Raghuram Rajan’s signature. However, they can be exchanged at any commercial bank,” said a senior bank official.

Commenting on the issue, RBI explained in an email: “Currency note production is a manufacturing process. Making changes in the process takes time... Changing the governor’s signature on the banknotes is one such process. To complete the process in all the banknote presses for all denominations of banknotes is a programme which is underway and is expected to be completed in due course.”