Do you have Rs 500 note with '*' star symbol? Fact checked about the 'fake note' controversy

A recent rumor has been circulating that ₹500 notes with a star symbol (*) are fake. However, according to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), these notes are, in fact, genuine.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced ₹500 denomination banknotes with a star symbol in December 2016 as part of the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. These notes feature an additional character '*' (star) in the number panel and are legal tender.

In a press release dated 16/12/2016, it read " ₹ 500 denomination banknotes will be issued in Mahatma Gandhi(New) series with the inset letter ‘E’ in both the number panels, bearing the signature of Dr. Urjit R. Patel Governor, Reserve Bank of India, the year of printing '2016’ and Swachh Bharat Logo printed on the reverse of the Banknote".

"Some of the captioned banknotes will have an additional character ‘*’ (star) in the number panel in the space between the prefix and the number added the release. Packets containing these notes will have 100 pieces as usual but not in serial order. To facilitate easy identification of note packets containing ‘star’ notes the bands on such packets will clearly indicate the presence of these notes in the packet. ‘Star’ banknotes in ₹ 500 denomination are being issued for the first time. ‘Star’ banknotes in the denomination of ₹ 10, 20, 50 and 100 are already in circulation . The rationale and the scheme of introduction of ‘Star’ banknotes were detailed in the Press Release No. 2005-2006/1337 dated April 19, 2006.  

"All ₹ 500 banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, issued from November 8, 2016 onwards, will continue to be legal tender".