The first ever Indian paper currency came out in 1861 and the evolution is absolutely brilliant!
Here is the evolution of our Paper currency that is simply amazing:
It started when the notes were printed by the Bank of England. The paper currency act of 1861 paved way to denominations like rupees 10, rupees 20, rupees 50, rupees 100, and rupees 1,000, with currency details in two languages and a portrait of the queen.
Interestingly, in the 1890s the French bank called Banque de l’Indochine issued currency notes called the “roupie” notes which were in the Indian market till 1954.
In the year 1863, the Portuguese government issued “rupia” notes which ran in Indian territories until 1961.
By 1928, India got its first currency printing press in Nashik and eventually went on to print currency for the entire country. And in 1935, the Reserve bank of India came into existence and took over the responsibility of Indian money.
In 1938, RBI issued its first ever note. It came with a portrait of King George VI.
The first post-Independence note came out in 1949! A one-rupee note with the image of the Lion Capital of Ashoka.
In 1996, bank notes with a picture of Mahatma Gandhi were first printed. Another fact about these notes was that they came with upgraded features for security reasons and for the convenience of the visually-impaired.
The currency notes were modified in 2011 the design sustained till 2016. However, due to demonetization and a lot of economic advancements, the latest currency notes have seen immense changes too. The recent introduction of rupee 2000, 1000, 500 and 50 denominations have been in circulation. Surely, our currency had a lot of make-overs that we should be proud of!
