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Rupee goes designer
Gets a symbol
Tribune News Service

The unique rupee symbol is a blend of the Devanagri ‘Ra’ and Roman ‘R’
Joins elite currencies like the US Dollar, Euro, British pound and Japanese Yen in having a distinct identity
The symbol will not be printed or embossed on currency notes or coins
It would be included in the ‘Unicode Standard’ and major scripts of the world to ensure that it is easily displayed and printed in the electronic and print media

New Delhi, July 15
The Cabinet today approved a new symbol for the Indian Rupee -- an amalgam of the Devnagiri ‘Ra’ and the Roman capital ‘R’, minus its stem. With the gaining of the symbol, the Indian rupee joins the elite club of US dollar, British pound, European euro and Japanese yen that currently have their own symbols.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said that 31-year-old IIT-B postgraduate in industrial design D. Udaya Kumar had designed the new symbol. “It was selected from among five shortlisted symbols put before the Cabinet and is just a symbol,” she told reporters. The approval came at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.

Soni said that all individuals and entities within and outside India would use the symbol after its incorporation in Unicode Standard, ISO/IEC 10646 and IS 13194. Encoding of the symbol in the Indian Standards is estimated to take about six months while encoding in the Unicode and ISO/IEC 10646 will take about 18-24 months. It will be incorporated in software packages and keyboards in use in India.

The winning entry has been designed by Bombay IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar.

The designer, who is with the Department of Design at IIT-Guwahati, said that his design was based on the Indian flag. “My design is based on the Tricolour with two lines at the top and white space in between. I wanted the symbol for the Rupee to represent the Indian flag,” said Kumar. “No words can explain my feeling… It is a great honour for me to be part of the Indian history,” said a jubilant Kumar.

The symbol will standardise the expression for Indian Rupee in different languages, both within and outside the country. It would better distinguish the Indian currency from countries whose currencies are also designated as Rupee or Rupiah, such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

It was decided to undertake an exercise to select a distinct and identifiable symbol for the India Rupee since the country is emerging as a prime global investment destination. A competition was held for resident Indian citizens and entries were invited for a symbol that reflects and captures the Indian ethos and culture.

Coming soon to a PC near you!

Wondering how long it’ll be before you use the new symbol? Here’s the incorporation process:

Operative software: Once the symbol is encoded in the Unicode Standard and National Standard, NASSCOM will approach software development firms to incorporate the new symbol in their operative software. It may be in the form of a new programme or an update and will enable use of the symbol worldwide, even if it is not found on keyboards.

Keyboards: To incorporate the symbol in keyboards manufactured in India, the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT) will enjoin its membership to make requisite changes in the production processes once the symbol is notified as a keyboard standard by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

(With inputs from IANS)