No, the Indian government hasn't issued these new currencies

Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a commemorative coin of Rs. 75 denomination on Sunday to mark the inauguration of the new parliament building. Soon after, a post which showed two new notes – Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 350 – and two coins – Rs. 125 and Rs. 200 – started doing the rounds with a claim that the government has introduced new currency.

A post was shared with a caption, "New Note & Coins of India.” Several people have also shared this post with a caption in Bengali.

However, the claim is false.

In Fact

As per the information available on Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) website, several coins with various denominations have been released since independence, including one paisa, 25 paisa, 50 paisa, one rupee, and ten rupees. In 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the release of a new series of one, two, five, ten, and 20 rupee coins. The announcement was made during the 2019 budget session.

The two coins mentioned in the viral post were released as commemorative coins. According to a The Indian Express report, Modi released a 125-rupee commemorative coin in 2021 to mark the 125th birth anniversary of ISKCON founder Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The 200 rupee coin, along with a ten rupee circulation coin, was released on April 18, 2016, to honor the martyrdom day of Tatya Tope, a hero of the 1857 mutiny. The coins were released by former Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma, reported The Economic Times.

The government has not released any new 350-rupee or 1,000-rupee notes either. According to RBI, the government has issued several notes since 1949, including a 1,000-rupee note. However, the 1,000-rupee note was demonetized in 2016 and is no longer in circulation. The government has never issued a 350-rupee note. The banknotes currently in circulation are ten, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 2,000 rupees.

On May 19, the government announced the withdrawal of the 2,000-rupee notes from circulation. The public has been given a four-month period until September 30, 2023, to exchange or deposit the 2,000-rupee notes at banks.

We also noticed several discrepancies in the viral notes. The font style was different from that of the other currency notes. Further, the 1,000-rupee note reads 'Do hazar rupee' (Two thousand rupees). The specimen of all notes can be found on the central bank 's website.

The Verdict

The Indian government didn't release any new currencies. Unrelated images are being shared to push the false claim. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.