500 Rupees

This note entered circulation in November 2016 as part of the demonetization crisis — one of the most disruptive monetary policy actions in post-independence Indian history. When Prime Minister Modi announced on 8 November 2016 that all ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes then in circulation would be invalidated overnight, the Reserve Bank of India was simultaneously obliged to introduce a replacement ₹500 at extraordinary speed, leading to well-documented shortages at bank branches and ATMs for weeks afterward.

The rushed rollout meant early ATMs required physical recalibration to accept the new dimensions before most of the public could actually access the notes.