11 Facts About Indian Currency - Bet You Don't Know At Least 5 Of Them

Here are some facts about Indian currency that you probably don't know. In fact, we can bet you don't know at least half of these, if not more. 

1. Big Bribe Notes Discontinued. Thank God!

As we all know that Rs.1000/- is largest/ biggest denomination of Indian currency today today, but before independence — 10,000 and 5000 rupees currency notes existed. RBI demonetized all such notes in 1938, and reissued them in 1954 and once again demonetized in 1978.

2. More Than What Meets The Eye

I think you noticed year of issue on a mint, but have you ever noticed the different symbols below the year. These symbols are actually specifying where the originated. The following insets have been assumed and be allotted…

• Noida – have a dot
• Mumbai – have a diamond
• Hyderabad – have a star
• Kolkata – Nothing beneath the year

3. Two Currencies, One Nation!

At one point there were two currencies operating in India. It was Hyderabadi Rupee from 1918 to 1959. It coexisted with Indian rupee from 1950

4. Two Nations, One Currency!!!

When Pakistan was in its infancy after India-Pak separation in 1947, they used Indian currency with "Pakistan" stamped on it for the first few months till there was enough circulation of Pakistani notes.

 

5. WW II Coin Crisis

The shortage of metal during World War II necessitated 36 Princely States mostly in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Sind, Baluchistan and central provinces to issue paper tokens instead of coins, some with the value of One Pice or 1/192nd of a Rupee.

6. How Do You Write ₹ In MS Word ???

New Rupee Symbol of India  -  How to use in Computers? Download the font. -> ”Rupee_Foradia.ttf” Save it to fonts folder of your PC: Location : C:/Windows/Fonts and then go to the C:/Windows/Fonts location and install (double  click) Open your word processor and select the “Rupee_forindian”. Just select “Rupee” font from the drop down list of your fonts in your application and press the key just above your tab button. It will display the new Rupee symbol of India.

7. The Very First Rupaiya. How Our Money Has De-evaluated!

The First One Rupee Notes were issued on 30th November, 1917 bearing photo of King George V. These were issued in a form of unstapled packet of 25 notes, printed on White hand-made moulded paper and signed by any of the 3 signatories who were M. M. S. Gubbay, A. C. Mc Watters & H. Denning.

 

8. Do You Know How The Re 1 Note Is Unique Amongst All Others?

A major difference between the one rupee note and other notes are that all RBI notes have the statement “I promise to pay the bearer a sum of xxx rupees” but one rupee note does not have this statement.

Unlike all other currency notes that have ‘Bhartiya Reserve Bank’ and ‘Reserve Bank of India’ printed on them, One Rupee note will have ‘Bharat Sarkar’ on its masthead, with ‘Government of India’ printed below that.

9. The Story Behind The Smiling Mahatma

We can see in all Indian currencies, Gandhiji’s facial image being printed. The smiling Gandhiji is very popular among the countrymen. Many of us think that image is a drawn picture. But, in fact it was a photo shot and picturised in 1946 by an unknown photographer. The original photo is displayed here. In the original photo Gandhiji smiles to some person nearby. That hollow smile picture had been developed into a mirror image and then the same has been imaged in the Indian Rupee currencies.

10. Coins Were Minted In Other Countries When Required

Because of the increasing demand for coins, the Indian government was forced to mint coins in foreign countries at various points in the country's history.

Foreign Mint Marks:

• Pretoria - diamond mark under the date 1943.
  
  

• Seoul - a five pointed star under the date of the coin but exactly below the first or Last Digits of dates 1985 and 1997.
  
  

• Birmingham (Royal Mint, UK) - small dot under the date of the coin but exactly below the first digit of date 1985.
  
  
• Heaton Press - Ornamental/decorated letter "H" under the last digit of the date 1985.
  
  

• Ottawa - a "C" mint mark under the date of the coin.
  
  

• Mexico City - "M" mint mark under the date of the coin.
  
  

Mints in Daegu, Korea, Slovakia (Kremnca), and Russia (Moscow) have also been used.

 

 11.  Different Currency Denominations Depict A Different Aspect Of India's Progress

Rs 1000 note: It was reissued in 2000. It depicts modern India.

Rs 500 note: It was reissued in 1987. It shows Dandi yatra (11 moorti).

Rs 100 note: IT depicts Himalayan range (non-living ecology).

Rs 50 note: It depicts  sansad bhavan (democratic India).

Rs 20 note: It depicts palm trees (living ecology).

Rs 10 note: It depicts wildlife.

Rs 5 note: It depicts agriculture (green revolution).

Source: quora.com

Indians Consume Foods Filled With Pesticides And Antibiotics. Does Our Government Care?

A green body has termed the contamination of food a "serious" problem in India as use of antibiotics "compromises" food safety while junk food adds to the problem, a Deccan Herald report says.
Pointing out the country's key food concerns on World Health Day, Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general of the New Delhi-based Center for Science and Environment said that "scientific evidence has shown that contamination of food is a serious issue in India as unchecked microbial activity, and the use of pesticides and antibiotics seriously compromise food safety, while consumption of junk food and other chemically-laced foods adds to the problem."

Source: The Hindu

World Health Organisation stats reveal that over two million people, of which 1.5 million children die every year across the world due to diarrhea from contaminated food and water, the report states.
In 2013, 10 out of 100 deaths of children below 5 in India were due to diarrhea.
"There is limited understanding of estimates of disease and deaths from all food-safety related issues. India also does not know the exact burden of all food-borne illnesses," said Bhushan, a report in The Hindu notes.

The Pesticide problem 

Researchers at CSE say that the unregulated use pesticides is a major reason for food contamination. Such unregulated use has potential long-term health effects, such as endocrine disruption, birth defects and cancer.
“Pesticides have even been found in packaged food products, such as soft drinks, bottled water and in human tissues in India," the report further mentions.
They also said that another threat is from indiscriminate use of antibiotics for non-therapeutic reasons.


Source: The Telegraph (UK)

The solution

India needs to strictly enforce its Food Safety and Standards Act. In addition to this, the country also needs to strengthen the food testing laboratory infrastructure and skills.

On World Health Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "the government is working tirelessly to realize the dream of a healthy India where every citizen has access to proper & affordable healthcare."

Sadly as the CSE report reveals, the reality is that food products in India are far below the reasonable standards of safety. 

Feature Image Source: The Hindu

Article sourced from scoopwhoop.com

Tips To Remain Safe From Delhi Pollution Problem

Delhi’s air pollution hit new highs last winter (2014-2015), giving the city, at least briefly, the worst air quality readings of any place on earth.

Unlike in years past, though, the warmer weather hasn’t brought that much relief.

Delhi’s air pollution has been worse than Beijing’s again this week. The count of the most insidious particles, the tiny PM 2.5 that enter your blood stream from your lungs and cause cancer, has fluctuated between 61 and 166 in Beijing during that time. In Delhi, they have bounced between 96 and 153.

In Beijing, filthy air has spawned public protests, plans to build air domes, widespread donning of face masks and a government declaration of “war” on the polluter culprits. But in Delhi the reaction has been much more muted, even though the air is often worse. There is no discernible government push to fight the rise in diesel generators, brick kilns, and traffic jams that cause the problem – minus a recent political letter-writing campaign.

Delhi residents are, let’s face it, pretty much stuck trying to deal with the problem themselves.

Here are some common coping strategies. But a caveat up front: They are not all available to everyone. Protecting yourself, and your kids, from Delhi’s air pollution takes one thing – money.

Researchers with Delhi’s Indian Institute of Technology and University of California, Berkeley took more than 80 trips through Delhi during rush hour in an auto rickshaw from February to May (pdf, pg. 12), measuring particulate matter and black carbon, and compared those levels to a fixed air monitor in central Delhi. It probably is not surprising that the figures on the road are higher than those off the road, but the difference between the two is stark:

The alternative here is to travel in a car instead, with the windows rolled up, and your air circulation system set to “recirculate,” rather than pulling in air from outside.

This only works, though, if you have a car.

Buy air purifiers by the cartload

Delhiites who can afford them are snapping up air purifiers that can cost Rs 30,000 ($484) or more for every room of their house. Some residents have spent several lakh outfitting their entire home.

Sales of air purifiers have been growing as much as 50% a year in India, and new entrants to the business expect that figure will only increase – especially if they can convince schools to sign up.

Already some high-end private schools have installed central air purifiers, but most of Delhi’s schools have not. If you can afford about $24,000 a year for tuition, you are in luck.







Keep the kids, and yourself, home from school and work

Last year, the national pollution control authority asked India’s Supreme Court to suspend school on heavy pollution days.

“Closure of kindergartens, primary and middle schools is one of the steps taken in China on days when pollution levels are high. Such a measure is essential in Delhi,” the environment board wrote in a report submitted to the Supreme Court last year. But the ministries of environment, road transport and petroleum quickly shrugged the recommendation off.

That does not mean you cannot still keep your kids home, or stay home yourself. But this only works if you have an understanding boss and teachers, and can possibly afford to lose your job.

Don’t go outdoors at night

Delhi’s pollution varies depending on the neighbourhood and traffic patterns, but in general the coldest temperatures (i.e. in the middle of the night) create the highest levels pollution because of inversion, which traps pollutants from cars and factories under a blanket of warm air.

Here is how concentrations of PM 2.5 fluctuated in RK Puram varied over a 24-hour period, between December 2 and December 3, 2014:

The best time to go out during the winter is 1 pm – but even then the concentrations of PM 2.5 are more than five times higher than the EPA’s recommendation.

As the weather has gotten warmer, those fluctuations are still very pronounced. Here’s the PM 2.5 levels in RK Puram during the past week:

So – just do not go outdoors at night. (This is not convenient for everyone.)

Take a pollu-cation

Travel just a few hours out of Delhi, and the air clears considerably. The hills are lovely this time of year. Mussoorie’s Claridges Nabha residence is running a Rs 11,000 per night promotion. You do not need to spend that much money, of course: Hotels in Kasauli start at Rs 500 a night.

Hire clean air consultants

Yes, they exist. BreatheEasy123 will come to your home, test your pollution levels and suggest filters and fixes.

Increase the greenery

Does adding more houseplants to your home actually make indoor air cleaner? New Delhi-based architect Kamal Meattle popularised the idea with a TED Talk that has been viewed by over 2 million people. Many air pollution specialists say there is no scientific evidence to support this, but, hey, it cannot hurt. Outdoor trees can help when their leaves catch big particulate matter.

Supplements, cleansing tonics, and treatments

There is everything from “bio-tulsi” tablets, made from dried basil “to counteract the effects of environmental pollution”, to ginger tea, which is believed to stave of colds and sniffles. Again, not entirely supported by science.

Move out

Well before an AIIMS doctor told the Indian Express newspaper that leaving Delhi was the best way to be healthy, some residents have been fleeing. Since 2007, Sarath Guttikunda, the founder of Urban Emissions, has been measuring Delhi’s air and trying to raise awareness about air pollution. Last year, he moved his family to Goa.

“I have two small kids and you can’t really take them to the park for long” during the Delhi winter, he told Quartz. “We were trying to keep them in their room all the time and in the house all the time.” In Goa, Guttikunda said, “they can go out whenever they want, and we don’t have to worry they’ll be sneezing tomorrow.”

Text, pictures, graphs courtesy: QZ.com