Inset As An Alphabet On Indian Banknotes
Government of India - One Rupee with portrait of King George VI - Inset 'A'
The Inset first appeared in 1945 on a One Rupee Banknote of Government of India with the portrait of King George VI signed by C. E. Jones, Secretary, Finance Department. This was necessitated because of the completion of the prefix 'A' to 'Z'. A new type with inset 'A' again commenced from prefix 'A' to 'W' with green serial numbers. Post independence, the Government of India in 1955 first introduced an Inset on One Rupee notes dated 1951 signed by H. M. Patel, Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance. The Inset was an alphabet in uppercase in bold beside the serial number initially and later positioned beneath the serial number from 1976 onwards. They continued to appear alphabetically though signed by different Secretaries of Finance Department and reached alphabet 'I', type* 6.1.6.4H signed by M. G. Kaul in 1976. One Rupee notes of Government of India overprinted for use in Burma and Pakistan also have the inset 'A' - type* 5.9.1B and 5.17.1.
The Reserve Bank of India in 1957 first introduced an Inset on Five Rupees notes signed by H. V. R. Iengar. The inset on notes of Reserve Bank of India appears as an alphabet in uppercase in relief underprint beneath the serial number.
The purpose for the use of an inset is two-fold:
1. The use of an inset is to differentiate distinct series of banknotes. There are a large number of banknotes that are printed in India. Once a series is complete, instead of commencing a completely new series, an inset is included beneath the serial number to the same series. This creates a separate identity to the banknote. This process is followed even for insets on replacement notes with a star in the serial number.
Incidentally, from 2005 onwards, the year of printing is also incorporated on the reverse of the banknote. The same inset and serial numbers are once again used each year.
Reserve Bank of India - Ten Rupees
Replacement note with Inset 'S'
From 1996, the inset alphabets are specific to the four different banknote printers currently used to print Indian banknotes by the Reserve Bank of India. Each of these four different banknote printers have been allocated specific inset alphabets.
· Bharatiya Note Mudran Nigam Pvt. Ltd., Salboni, West Bengal :
Inset 'R', Inset 'S', Inset 'T', Inset 'U' and Inset 'V'
Reserve Bank of India - Twenty Rupees - Inset 'R'
printed in 2010 at Bharatiya Note Mudran Nigam Pvt. Ltd., Salboni, West Bengal
- Currency Note Press, Nashik (Nasik), Maharashtra :
Inset 'L', Inset 'M', Inset 'N', Inset 'P' and Inset 'Q'
Reserve Bank of India - Fifty Rupees - Inset 'L'
printed in 2011 at Currency Note Press, Nashik (Nasik), Maharashtra
· Banknote Press, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh :
Inset 'E', Inset 'F', Inset 'G', Inset 'H' and Inset 'K'
Inset 'E', Inset 'F', Inset 'G', Inset 'H' and Inset 'K'
Reserve Bank of India - One Hundred Rupees - Inset 'E'
printed in 2008 at Banknote Press, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh
· Bharatiya Note Mudran Nigam Pvt. Ltd., Mysore, Karnataka :
No inset, Inset 'A', Inset 'B', Inset 'C' and Inset 'D'
Reserve Bank of India - Five Hundred Rupees - No Inset
printed in 2011 at Bharatiya Note Mudran Nigam Pvt. Ltd., Mysore, Karnataka
*The reference of type numbers is from 'The Revised Standard Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money' by Rezwan Razack and Kishore Jhunjhunwalla.
