One-rupee currency note in India bears the signature of

Concept — In India, currency is issued under two separate legal authorities, and the signature an instrument carries follows its issuing authority rather than its face value. Banknotes are issued by the Reserve Bank of India under Section 22 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and are authenticated by the signature of the Governor of the Reserve Bank. Coins and the one-rupee note are issued directly by the Government of India under the Coinage Act; coins carry no signature at all and are identified by their mint mark, while the one-rupee note is authenticated by the signature of the Finance Secretary of the Ministry of Finance.

Application — The instrument named here is the one-rupee note. A one-rupee note is not a Reserve Bank issue: it is printed by the Government of India and released into circulation through the Reserve Bank, which acts only as the Government's agent for distribution. Applying the rule above, its obverse therefore carries the signature of the Finance Secretary, Government of India, the administrative head of the Ministry of Finance, and not that of the Governor of the Reserve Bank.

Cross-check — The division of issuing authority can be set out side by side:

The two remaining offices sit outside the note-issuing chain altogether:

• The President of India authenticates Acts of Parliament, ordinances and proclamations; no denomination of Indian currency carries the President's signature.

• The Finance Minister of India presents the Union Budget and the Finance Bill in Parliament; the political head of the Ministry signs neither notes nor coins.

Hence the one-rupee currency note in India bears the signature of the Finance Secretary of the Government of India.