On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it will put into circulation Rs 50 denomination banknotes signed by its Governor Shaktikanta Das.

These notes will be issued by the RBI in Mahatma Gandhi new series and will bear the signature of Das. "The design of these notes is similar in all respects to Rs 50 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi new series", it said.

RBI further said that "all banknotes in the denomination of Rs 50 issued by the Reserve Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender."

Bearing the signature of RBI governors on currency notes has been a long followed tradition. t was started during the term of James Braid Taylor, the second governor of RBI, from 1937 to 1943. I

Osborne Smith, the first RBI governor, (between 1 April 1935 and 30 June 1937) did not sign any banknotes. The signature of the fifth governor, KG Ambegaonkar was also not featured on any notes issued by the RBI as he was an interim governor for a short duration. However, his signature did feature on Re 1 notes as the finance secretary.

The present governor, Shaktikanta Das, was appointed on 11 December 2018 for a period of 3 years to replace Urjit Patel, who had resigned the day before.