Tamil Nadu government decided to remove the official rupee symbol (₹) from the state budget 2025

The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has decided to remove the official rupee symbol (₹) from the state Budget 2025 and replace it with the Tamil script. This is the first time a state has rejected the national currency symbol, taking its opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP) to a new level. For more updates on national news, visit Vaartha's National Section.

The rupee symbol '₹' was designed by Udaya Kumar, son of a former DMK MLA and currently an IIT professor. Editorial | The MK Stalin government has replaced the rupee symbol with the Tamil letter 'Rs' in the state budget logo amid a three-language row over the rupee.

Before 2010, the Indian rupee was often abbreviated as “Rs” or “INR” in international markets, leading to confusion with other currencies such as the Pakistani and Sri Lankan rupees. In 2009, the Ministry of Finance announced a national competition, inviting designers, artists, and the general public to submit their ideas for the rupee symbol. The initiative aimed to create a symbol that represented India's economic strength while embracing its cultural roots.

The history of the iconic rupee symbol (₹) dates back to 2010. Udaya Kumar, who was then a postgraduate student at IIT Bombay, was about to join the design department at IIT Guwahati when he won a national competition to design India's official currency symbol, beating hundreds of other entries. He spent a lot of time researching from history to modern times. Initially, he started with graphic elements but then moved on to scripts as he felt it could best identify the country. He felt the Devanagari script was particularly unique.

After extensive research, Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam created the Rupee (₹) symbol by combining the Devanagari 'Ra' for rupee and the Roman 'R' for Rupee, giving it a distinctly Indian but universal identity. Winning the competition in 2010 proved to be a milestone in his life, opening new avenues in design and education. Since then, he has designed logos for institutions such as IIT Hyderabad and the National Testing Agency.

Now as a professor at IIT Guwahati, he mentors students, encouraging innovative thinking in design. His work continues to combine tradition and modernity, shaping India's visual and cultural identity. On July 15, 2010, the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh officially introduced the symbol, a watershed moment in India's monetary history. For more updates and news, you can visit Vaartha's ePaper.