Fact Check: Rs 500 Notes With Star Symbol Are Genuine Currency

New Delhi: Messages have been circulating on WhatsApp about Rs 500 notes with a star (*) symbol being fake.

“Rs 500 notes marked with * have started circulating in the market. Such notes were returned by IndusInd Bank. This is a fake note,” read one such message.

However, #PIBFactCheck has clarified that such Rs 500 currency notes with a star (*) symbol are genuine, and not fake.

“Do you have a ₹500 note with a star symbol (*)❓Are you worried it’s fake❓Fret no more‼️ The message deeming such notes as fake is false! Star marked(*) ₹500 banknotes have been in circulation since December 2016,” PIB posted on X on Thursday.

PIB Fact Check attached a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) press release dated December 16, 2016.

“The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue ₹ 500 denomination banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi(New) series with the inset letter ‘E’ in both the number panels, bearing the signature of Dr. Urjit R. Patel Governor, Reserve Bank of India, the year of printing ‘2016’ and Swachh Bharat Logo printed on the reverse of the Banknote. Some of the captioned banknotes will have an additional character ‘*’ (star) in the number panel in the space between the prefix and the number. Packets containing these notes will have 100 pieces as usual but not in serial order. To facilitate easy identification of note packets containing ‘star’ notes the bands on such packets will clearly indicate the presence of these notes in the packet. ‘Star’ banknotes in ₹ 500 denomination are being issued for the first time. ‘Star’ banknotes in the denomination of ₹ 10, 20, 50 and 100 are already in circulation,” stated the note signed by Ajit Prasad, Assistant Adviser, RBI.