Currency symbol finalized for Indian Rupee

India has finally got the unique currency symbol for Indian Rupee, which till now was denoted using 'Rs' or 'Re'. The new symbol is a perfect blend of modernity and Indian culture. It includes both the Devnagiri 'Ra' and the Roman capital 'R' and includes two parallel lines, which denotes "equals to" sign. Now Indian Rupee can be recognized globally by having its unique identity and symbol.

A unique currency symbol shows the robustness of the country's economy and now India too will be recognized as a global economy among other countries. It lend a distictive identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and global face of the Indian economy. The selected symbol has been designed by an Indian Institute of Technology postgraduate 'D Udaya Kumar'. Earlier, a committee headed by a Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) shortlisted five symbols and then redesigned them to give a new design to show robustness and perfect blend of modernity and Indian tradition. On Thursday, July 15th 2010, the Union Cabinet approved this design among the five selected symbols.

"The symbol will be adopted in a span of 6 months in the country, and within 18 to 24 months globally", as told by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni. Later, it will feature on computer keyboards and softwares for worldwide use.

Shortlisted Currency Symbols for Indian Rupee

Earlier in 2009, Indian government decided to give the Indian currency a symbol to get it recognized globally and invited designs from all over the country. A committee headed by a Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) has shortlisted five symbols and expected to finalize the symbol on June 24th 2010. The Finance Ministry asked that the selected symbol should represent the historical and cultural ethos of traditional India.

As of now, there is no official symbol to represent Indian Rupee and India is using abbreviations “Re” and “Rs” for its currency. These abbreviations are also used by Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal for their currencies. Now, we have to wait and check which symbol will be finalized and when notes will start bearing the new symbol. You can bookmark this page to stay updated.

On 15th July 2010, the Union Cabinet finally approved the symbol for Indian currency. The new symbol is a redesign of the shortlisted symbol to give a perfect blend of modernity and Indian culture.