5 Rupees Military Administration

The Military Administration rupee notes were issued to service British and Allied forces operating in the Burma campaign. Overprinted on standard Reserve Bank of India stock, they were intended to prevent currency captured by Japanese forces from being used outside the military zone — a precaution that followed the fall of Singapore in 1942, which had exposed how dangerous uncontrolled currency could be in enemy hands.

C.D. Deshmukh was the first Indian Governor of the RBI, appointed in 1943, making his signature on wartime military issue notes a small historical coincidence worth noting. Taylor served as Finance Member of the Viceroy's Executive Council.