Here's all you need to know about new Rs 200 note and its availability in ATMs

As the new Rs 200 banknote launches today, the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday mentioned the reason why it thought of issuing the new lower denomination note. 

In a statement released on its website on Thursday, the RBI said, "To achieve the optimal system of currency that would minimise the number of denominations while increasing the probability of proffering exact change, especially at the lower end of denominations, there is a logical need to introduce the missing denomination of Rs 200, which will make the present currency system more efficient".

"Provision of the new denomination, therefore, would facilitate exchange, particularly for the common man who deals with denominations at the lower end", it further added. 

The notes are out for circulation in select bank branches.

However, it may take a while before they are dispensed from the ATMs due to its configuration, which is different from the existing currency of Rs 100 and Rs 2,000. The Rs 200 note will have a dimension of 66 mm × 146 mm.

R Gandhi, former deputy governor of RBI in charge of currency management, told DNA Money, "It is very important to have various denominations of currency in a country and the Rs 200 was a missing link in the lower denomination. The new notes will help in speeding up transactions, especially for the common man. It may, however, take a while before it is available at the ATMs as the dimensions are different. However, banks can recalibrate it in the normal course of business make it first available in the branches and then gradually in the ATMs."

RBI said in a release that globally countries have opted to use the Renard series where the ratio between one adjacent denomination of currency is 1:2 or 1:2.5, which means that the denomination should be twice or two-and-a-half times of its preceding denomination. Such a ratio allows an exchange of value ordinarily in a maximum of three denominations. In India we have currency denomination of Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 100 , Rs 500 and Rs 2,000. The Rs 200 bridged the link between the Rs 100 and Rs 500.

Following are the key features of the newly introduced note: 

Obverse (Front)

1. See through register with denominational numeral 200
2. Latent image with denominational numeral 200
3. Denominational numeral २०० in Devnagari
4. Portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre
5. Micro letters ‘RBI’, ‘भारत’, ‘India’ and ‘200’
6. Windowed security thread with inscriptions ‘भारत’ and RBI with colour shift. Colour of the thread changes from green to blue when the note is tilted
7. Guarantee Clause, Governor’s signature with Promise Clause and RBI emblem towards right of Mahatma Gandhi portrait
8. Denominational numeral with Rupee Symbol, ₹ 200 in colour changing ink (green to blue) on bottom right
9. Ashoka Pillar emblem on the right
10. Mahatma Gandhi portrait and electrotype (200) watermarks
11. Number panel with numerals growing from small to big on the top left side and bottom right side

For visually impaired

12. Intaglio or raised printing of Mahatma Gandhi portrait, Ashoka Pillar emblem, raised Identification mark H with micro-text ₹ 200, four angular bleed lines with two circles in between the lines both on the right and left sides
Reverse (Back)

13. Year of printing of the note on the left
14. Swachh Bharat logo with slogan
15. Language panel
16. Motif of Sanchi Stupa
17. Denominational numeral २०० in Devnagari

Dimension

18. Dimension of the banknote will be 66 mm × 146 mm