The Reserve Bank of India first printed Mahatma Gandhi's photo with a Sevagram Ashram background in 1969 to mark his 100th birth anniversary. They later introduced a new 500 rupee note featuring his picture in October 1987.

Permanent design from 1996

Counterfeiters started making fake notes easily in the 1990s because digital printing and scanning technology improved. The RBI realised that copying human facial expressions, especially the fine lines of Gandhi's smile, is much harder than copying non-living objects. They officially launched the 'Mahatma Gandhi Series' notes in 1996, since he was a universally accepted great leader across the country. His picture remains on our currency notes continuously from that time until today.