Twenty Rupee Note - Part One

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This article is written as 9 part series. The first 6 describe the regular issue. The last 3 post gives the details of the Star Series. Please use the Previous - Next to navigate or use the Currency Tab to get a link to list of all posts.

Part 1: Notes by S Jaganathan, KR Puri, M Narasimham, I G Patel

Part 2: Notes by Manmohan Singh, RN Malhotra, C Rangarajan, Bimal Jalan

Part 3: Notes by YV Reddy

Part 4: Notes by D Subba Rao

Part 5: Notes by Raghuram Rajan

Part 6: Notes by Urjit Patel

Star Series:

Part 1: Notes by YV Reddy, D Subba Rao

Part 2: Notes by Raghuram Rajan

Part 3: Notes by Urjit Patel

The first issue of the Rs 20 was introduced after more than 20 years of Independence.

The 20 Rupees was first introduced during the tenor of S Jagannathan

There are 3 designs of the notes so far.

1. Parliament House Orange Note
2. Konark Wheel
3. Gandhi Series - Nature bordered with floral design

Parliament house, with flag.

This particular design was only issued by S Jagannathan. The note had a distinct orange colour.

Obverse: Shield shaped window for Ashoka Emblem as watermark on the left side. The emblem in ink on the right side. The value 20 written in center with the governors signature below.

Reverse:  Although the Parliament house has been used on quite a few notes, the design on this is quite distinct. The language panel is on the left The value was written in 13 languages.

Size:         47x63

Numbering: Prefix of 3 characters. First one Alphabet with 2 Numbers below the alphabet.

Rs 20 - S Jagannathan - First Issue
Design: Parliament
Prefix: A/01 to A/49
Size: 147x63

Rs 20 - S Jagannathan - Wrong Kashmari
Design: Parliament
Prefix: A/50 to C/49
Size: 147x63

Rs 20 - S Jagannathan - Right Kashmari
Design: Parliament
Prefix: C/50 to D
Size: 147x63

Differentiating between Wrong and Right Kashmiri.
The simplest way is to look at the prefix.
Otherwise look at the language pannel in the back of the note.
The Kashmiri is on line 5. Notice the first set of characters.
Wrong Kashmiri will look like;

 The Right Kashmiri will look like;

Konark Wheel

The next design again during the tenor of S Jagnathan was the Konark Wheel. This note had quite a few security improvements over the previous design.

Obverse: Ashoka Emblem in Circular watermark window on the left. The Emblem on the right. The language panel next to watermark with value in 13 languages. The value 20 in the center.

Reverse: "Wheel" as in the Konark Sun Temple in Odisha. The temple in the background.

Size: 147x63

Numbering Convention: Prefix of 3 characters in single line adopt. First two Numeric with 1 Alphabet.

Rs 20 - S Jagannathan - No Inset

New design introduced with Konark wheel at the back
Design: Konark Wheel
Prefix: A to C
Size: 147x63



Rs 20 - K R Puri - No Inset
Design: Konark Wheel
Prefix: D to H
Size: 147x63

Rs 20 - M Narasimham - No Inset
Design: Konark Wheel
Prefix: K to L
Size: 147x63

Rs 20 - I G Patel - No Inset
Design: Konark Wheel
Prefix: M to W
Size: 147x63

Rs 20 - I G Patel - A Inset
Design: Konark Wheel
Prefix: A to C
Size: 147x63