The Indian Rupee now has its own symbol – just like some other major currencies in the world.
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Its a great moment in Indian history – our currency, the Rupee, now has its own symbol.
The Background
So far, the rupee has been denoted as Re. or Rs. The same notation is also used by our neighboring countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia etc, who also have rupee or rupiah as their currency.
To differentiate from such other currencies, and as a symbol of India being a vital part of the world economy, it had been decided to have our own symbol for the rupee.
A five-member jury finalized the symbol for the rupee (created by D Udaya Kumar), and it has been approved by the union cabinet on 15th July2010.
The Elite Club
With this, India joins the elite club of nations whose currencies have a symbol. So far, only USA (dollar), UK (pound), Eurozone (euro) and Japan (yen) have a symbol for their currencies – now, India becomes the fifth nation to get a currency symbol. (Actually, its the 4th country, as Eurozone is a coalition of countries).
| Country | Currency | Symbol |
| United States of America (USA) | US Dollar |  |
| United Kingdom (UK) | Pound Sterling |  |
| Japan | Yen |  |
| Eurozone | Euro |  |
| India | Rupee | |
The Way Ahead
The government intends to popularize the new symbol soon. T is aiming at country-wide adoption within 6 months, and international adoption in 18 – 24 months.
Currency Notes
Going forward, this symbol may be printed on Indian currency notes and and embossed on coins. However, the decision to do this and the date of implementation would be decided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Computer keyboards and cell phones
The new symbol would also feature on computer keyboards and the key pads of mobile phones – just like the dollar appears today. This would help the display and printing of the new symbol.
It would also become a part of the ‘Unicode Standard’ so that it is compatible with various web browsers and printers.
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