The Reserve Bank will shortly issue Rs 500 notes which will have the rupee symbol.

The Rs 500 notes will be of the Mahatma Gandh-2005 Series bearing the signature of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Mr D Subbarao and with the year of printing mentioned on the back of the banknote, the apex bank said in a statement.

The design of the notes to be issued is similar in all respects to the existing Rs 500 in Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 issued earlier, except for the rupee symbol.