"According to RBI both types of notes are valid," the tweet read.
The government has clarified that the proximity of Mahatma Gandhi's image to the green stripe on a Rs 500 note does not indicate whether the currency is fake or not. In a social media post, the official Press Information Bureau's Fact Check handle quashed rumours that notes which featured the stripe closer to the image when compared to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor's signature were all fake.
In a tweet (originally in Hindi), PIB said, “It is being claimed in a message that the Rs 500 note in which the green stripe is not near the RBI governor's signature but near the picture of Gandhi ji is fake. This assertion is false.”
Tagging the RBI, the tweet continued, “According to RBI both types of notes are valid.”
The tweet also provided a link to a document that provides further details on the various facets of the Rs 500 note. The document states, “The new Rs 500 notes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series are different from the present series in colour, size, theme, location of security features and design elements. The size of the new note is 66mm x 150mm. The colour of the notes is stone grey and the predominant new theme is the Indian heritage site - Red Fort.”
The document contains as many as 13 facets of the Rs 500 note including the year of printing on the note, the logos and inscriptions present on the front and back of the note as well as special features for benefit of the visually impaired, among others. You can check the details of all notes currently in circulation in India here.
In order to ascertain whether a note is counterfeit, it is always advisable to follow the RBI's pointers and the government fact-checker, and not rely on any anonymous social media texts.