The story behind Mahatma Gandhi’s iconic banknote smile picture
The familiar smiling image of Mahatma Gandhi on Indian banknotes traces back to a 1946 photograph with British politician Lord Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence at Viceroy House, now Rashtrapati Bhavan. Contrary to popular belief, it isn't a hand-drawn sketch but a real photo, later adapted into the Mahatma Gandhi Series introduced by RBI from 1996 onwards.