Something old, something new from India

Rather surprisingly the Reserve Bank of India has demonetized the current 500- and 1,000-rupees banknotes on 9 November 2016 in an effort to attack the black market and counterfeiting in India. People can exchange (real) banknotes at banks in India with a valid ID.

Following that sudden decision the RBI also introduces the first two banknotes from the new "Mahatma Ghandi (New)" series, with Ghandi looking the other way. Below are images of the new notes with the 500-rupees note being stone grey with the Red Fort in Delhi on the back. The 2,000-rupees note is magenta and has the Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) on the back, which incidentally makes it a very nice addition to my space blog.