essay on rupee symbol

The Making of the Indian Rupee Symbol

Unlike other large economies, india took centuries to design a currency sign of its own. was it worth the wait.

Sneha Mehta

April 25, 2024

In August 2005, Nondita Correa Mehrotra was at Kuala Lumpur airport when she spotted a currency exchange booth displaying the symbols for the dollar, pound, euro, and yen. An unremarkable feature at most airports, the kiosk reminded Mehrotra, an architect at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), of a question she often mulled over: why didn’t the Indian rupee have its own symbol? 

“I used to get upset about the number of ways we write the rupee abbreviation in English,” said Mehrotra. “[An accountant would] use ‘Rs,’ or he’d add a full stop after ‘Rs,’ or not use ‘Rs’ at all. It was so messy. We don’t have this confusion with the dollar or pound sign.”

Mehrotra took matters into her own hands. On her flight to Mumbai, she sketched out a symbol for the rupee, using the Devanagari letter for “R” and two horizontal lines through the middle, similar to the euro. She sent her proposal to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s federal bank, and the Prime Minister’s Office. When she didn’t hear back, Mehrotra assumed the idea was lost in the bureaucratic shuffle. It wasn’t. Four years later, in 2009, her proposal inspired a nationwide design contest. But 15 years after its launch, has the rupee symbol made a difference?

The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The first rupee in India was introduced by Sher Shah Suri and the Bank of Hindustan issued the first paper note.  The Reserve Bank of India issues and regulates currency-related provisions. The symbol of Indian Rupee characterizes India’s worldwide identity for currency transactions and economic clout.

India Yearbook  is an essential book for UPSC IAS Exam. The India yearbook, the comprehensive summary of the country profile and progress is published by the Publication division, Government of India. The book deals with massive facts, statistics etc. Several questions have been asked from the India yearbook in previous year Civil Services Examination. National Identity elements of India dealt in the second chapter of India yearbook.

This article will further elaborate upon the facts associated with the currency symbol of India within the context of the  IAS Exam.

Currency Symbol of India – Facts

Here we are giving interesting facts about currency symbol of India which will help you in the UPSC IAS Prelims exam preparation.

• The symbol of Indian Rupee was accepted by the Government of India on 15th July 2010.
• The Indian Rupee sign is a symbol of Indian ideology. The symbol is a combination of Devanagari “Ra” and the Roman Capital “R” with two parallel horizontal stripes running at the top.
• The horizontal lines form a background effect of tricolor which slightly symbolizes the Indian national flag flying at the top.
• The two horizontal lines also represent the arithmetic sign ‘equal to’ which signifies a balanced economy.
• The symbol of Indian Rupee is designed by Udaya Kumar. The design of Indian rupee was chosen through an open competition conducted by the Ministry of Finance.
• The symbol imparts a unique identity to the Indian currency that helps to distinguish it from similar currencies of other nations such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

Frequently Asked Questions on Currency Symbol of India

Q 1. who designed the currency symbol for india, q 2. from where has the indian currency sign been adapted.

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A short history of 150 years of paper currency in India

Knowing that the current Rs500 and Rs1,000-denominated notes are now a relic of the past makes you look at them differently. In one night, what was once legal tender became nothing more worthy than Monopoly money.

And yet, the Narendra Modi government’s sudden move on Nov. 08, which preceded the introduction of new notes, was only the latest milestone in the long story of the Indian rupee’s evolution in paper form.

For many of us, the old versions featuring Mahatma Gandhi on one side were all that we ever knew. Though the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced an updated version of the notes in 2005 (eventually all the notes, and not just the high-denomination ones), with some new security features, the overall look and design remained similar to the original style, introduced in 1996. These notes were, however, preceded by decades of changes in symbols, colours, sizes, denominations and more—a rich history that harks back to the colonial era.

The birth of a paper currency

Until the 18th century, silver and gold coins were commonly used in India. But as private European trading companies established their own banks in the region, such as the Bank of Hindostan in Calcutta, they began issuing the very first versions of Indian paper notes , which were initially just text-based.

As British companies began increasing their hold over what were then Bengal, Bombay, and Madras, they established presidency banks, beginning with the Bank of Bengal. This further popularised the use of paper notes. The Bank of Bengal went on to release notes that featured a small image of a female figure meant to represent the idea of “commerce,” as well as the bank’s name and the denomination in three scripts: Urdu, Bengali, and Nagri.

However, it was only after the Paper Currency Act of 1861 that the British colonial government really got involved in producing money, establishing the paper currency as we know it today. Money was now to be issued by the state alone, not banks. The new law was the brainchild of James Wilson, the finance member of the India Council that advised the British in India. Wilson effectively was a sort of finance minister in the colonial government. (Incidentally, he also founded the Economist newspaper in 1843 and was the founding director of the Standard Chartered Bank.)

The “Victoria Portrait series” notes were the very first paper notes officially introduced by the government, available in denominations of Rs10, Rs20, Rs50, Rs100, and Rs1,000. The notes had details provided in two languages, as well as a small portrait of the queen on the top left.

At the time, as Manu Goswami explains in her book Producing India, the vast mass of the region was divided into “currency circles,” each with notes that could only be used within a specific area. These circles were centered on cities then known as Calcutta, Bombay, Madras and Rangoon, as well as Kanpur, Lahore, and Karachi.

Interestingly, in instances when money had to be securely transferred across distances, the paper notes were sometimes cut in half, with one half being sent by post first and the second sent only after the first reached the destination, according to the RBI’s Monetary Museum .

Other colonial governments also printed notes for use in their territories in India. For instance, France’s Banque de l’Indochine issued its own “roupie” notes in the late 1890s and these stayed in circulation right up to 1954, when they were replaced with Indian government notes. The Portuguese issued “rupia” notes starting in 1883 and they were used until 1961.

As British influence grew over the years, the denominations and styles of their currency notes in India evolved; they began to feature more languages and details, as well as the portraits of kings, starting with George V in 1923.

All these notes were printed by the Bank of England until India’s first currency printing press was established in Nasik in 1928. Four years later, this press was producing all of India’s notes. In 1935, the responsibility of managing India’s money was handed over to the newly-established RBI.

Money for modern India

It took RBI several years to launch its own notes and the first versions looked similar to the earlier editions of the colonial government. RBI’s first note was issued in 1938 and featured a portrait of  King George VI:

After Independence in 1947, India’s currency needed a new look, with imagery and symbols to represent its new identity. The first post-Independence note came out in 1949 : The Re1 had the image of the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, which would also become the official emblem of India, printed on the top right.

Over the next few years, RBI released notes of different denominations featuring images of monuments such as Mumbai’s Gateway of India and the Brihadeeswara temple in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur town. In the 1960s, notes began to be printed in different colours to help people who couldn’t read.

The Ashoka pillar remained one of the main images on most notes until the 1980s when the next redesign occurred. This time the motifs oriented towards Indian art forms and symbols of scientific and economic progress, a nod to the country’s development.

But perhaps the most important transformation over the years was technological. In 1944, fearing the infiltration of Japanese forgeries  in the latter years of the Second World War, RBI introduced a security thread for the first time on its notes, as well as an updated watermark. Decades later, in 1996 and in 2005, it released versions of a new “Mahatma Gandhi series” of notes. These came with an updated range of security features, including a latent image that could only be seen when the note was held up to light in a certain way. Special inks were used for the various texts and the notes carried details that could help the visually-impaired.

The last design change in recent memory was the inclusion of the new rupee currency symbol, first adopted in 2010. Notes bearing this symbol, a combination of the Devanagri ‘Ra’ and Roman ‘R’ , were printed for the first time in 2011 .

The money of tomorrow

Today, these notes are still an essential part of daily life, even as credit cards and online payment services are becoming increasingly popular in urban India. But the demonetsation of the Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes, the first such step in nearly 40 years , has paved the way for further evolution of India’s paper currency.

The two new notes feature Devanagari numerals, along with the usual international standard ones, a surprise addition given the long-running debate over the status of India’s many languages.

The Rs500 note is now slightly smaller and stone grey in colour but still features the Mahatma. On the reverse, RBI has added the spectacles logo of Swacch Bharat—prime minster Narendra Modi’s pet “clean India”campaign—and an image of Delhi’s Red Fort. Meanwhile, the Rs2,000 note is magenta in colour and represents India’s Mars orbiter mission, a new symbol to mark the distance that the country has travelled over its long history.

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India Adopts a New Symbol for Its Currency

By Heather Timmons

• July 15, 2010

NEW DELHI — The Indian rupee joined the U.S. dollar, the British pound, the euro and the Japanese yen on Thursday when it got its very own symbol.

The rupee’s new rune is a modification of a letter in the Devanagari script, which is used to write Hindi, India’s official language. It was designed by D. Udaya Kumar, a student at the Indian Institute of Technology, who studied typography, scripts and ancient printing methods. It looks like a capital letter R, minus its vertical leg, and with two added horizontal lines through the upper, curved portion.

Mr. Kumar’s winning entry was picked from more than 3,000 submissions and five finalists, and approved by the India’s top government ministers on Thursday. Mr. Kumar, who begins teaching as an assistant professor at his alma mater on Friday, told a local news channel it was a “great honor” to be part of India’s history. He takes home a prize of 250,000 rupees, or about $5,363.

The symbol will “lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and robustness of the Indian economy,” the Ministry of Finance said Thursday in a statement. It will also help distinguish India’s currency from others with similar or identical names, like the Nepalese and Pakistani rupee, and the Indonesian rupiah.

It often takes several years for a new currency symbol to be adopted around the world.

For India, the next step after government approval is submission to the Unicode Consortium, a not-for-profit organization of many of the world’s largest software manufacturers, which has created standard computer coding to represent many of the world’s languages. An Indian technology trade organization, Nasscom, will ask software developers to include the symbol in their new products, and Indian keyboard manufacturers will be encouraged to include it new products.

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Indian Rupee Symbol

' Indian Rupee Symbol ' - The Philosophy behind the Design of the Symbol The Indian rupee symbol has been selected for the Indian rupee, the official currency of India. The design of this symbol was selected through a nationwide competition. The design integrates both the Devanagiri letterform 'RA' and the Latin capital letter 'R'. The Unicode character set for the Indian rupee symbol is U+20B9. The design philosophy of the symbol is derived from the Devanagari script, a traditional script deeply rooted in our Indian culture. The symbol also seamlessly integrates the Latin script which is widely used around the world.

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The History of the Indian Currency Notes and its Evolution

The origin of the word “rupee” is from sanskrit word rupya which means shaped, stamped, impressed, coin and also from the sanskrit word “raupya” which means silver. there was a long history of struggle, exploration and wealth which can be traced back to the ancient india of the 6th century bc regarding rupee. the paper currency act of 1861 gave the government the monopoly of note issued throughout the vast expanse of british india..

The origin of the word “Rupee” is from Sanskrit word ‘Rupya’ which means shaped, stamped, impressed or coin and also from the Sanskrit word “raupya” which means silver. The rupee which we keep in our pocket has a strange or perplexing past. There was a long history of struggle, exploration and wealth which can be traced back to the ancient India of the 6 th Century BC. In 19 th century the Britishers introduced paper money into the subcontinent. The Paper Currency Act of 1861 gave the Government the monopoly of note issued throughout the vast expanse of British India.

Below are the interesting facts about how Indian currency notes have evolved over the ages into the rupee of today.

The earliest issuers of coins in the world are the Ancient Indians along with Chinese and Lydians from the Middle East. The first Indian coins were minted in the 6 th Century BC by the Mahajanpadas (the Republic Kingdoms of ancient India) known as Puranas, Karshapanas or Panas.

These coins have irregular shapes , standard weight and are made up of silver with different markings like Saurashtra had a humped bull , Dakshin Panchala had a Swastika and Magadha had several symbols.

Source: www.coinindia.com

What are the Benefits of Plastic Notes in the Indian Economy

Then Mauryas came up with the Punch Marked Coins minting of silver, gold, copper or lead and Indo-Greek Kushan kings introduced the Greek custom of engraving portraits on the coins.

The Turkish Sultans of Delhi had replaced the royal designs of Indian kings with Islamic calligraphy by the 12 th Century AD. The currency was made up of Gold, silver and copper known as Tanka and lower valued coin known as Jittals.

The Mughal Empire from 1526 AD consolidated the monetary system for the entire empire. In this era evolution of rupee occurred when Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun and issued a silver coin of 178 gms known as rupiya and was divided into 40 copper pieces or paisa and during the whole Mughal period silver coin remained in use.

Source: www.thebetterindia.com

Rs of 500 and 1000 Note Ban: Benefits & Drawbacks

During the British East India Company i.e. 1600 , The Mughal currency remained popular but in 1717 AD, Farrukh Siyar the Mughal Emperor gave permission to the Britishers or the English to coin Mughal money at the Bombay mint. Then British gold coins were termed as Carolina, the silver coins as Angelina, the copper coins as cupperoon and the tin coins as tinny.

In the 18 th Century, the Bank of Hindostan General Bank in Bengal and the Bengal Bank became the first banks in India to issue paper currency i.e. during this time paper money was first issued in British India.

Source:www.acdn.newshunt.com

This is the first note issued by the Bank of Bengal of Two Hundred and Fifty Sicca Rupees note, September 3, 1812.

With the Coinage Act of 1835 , uniform coinage throughout the country comes. And in 1858, Mughal empire subsequently ended and British crown gained control over one hundred princely states and so, the images on the coins were replaced by portraits of the Monarch of Great Britain Supremacy.

The king George VI replaced the native designs on banknotes and coins but after the revolt of 1857 , he made the Rupee as the official currency of colonial India.

In the honour of Queen Victoria in 1862 , series of bank notes and coins were issued with the Victoria portrait.

Finally, the Reserve Bank of India was set up in 1935 and empowered to issue Government of India notes. It had also printed 10,000 rupee notes and was later demonetised after Independence. And the first paper currency issued by RBI was a 5 rupee note bearing King George VI’s portrait, in January 1938.

10 Rarest and Most Valuable Coins of Human History

After gaining Independence in 1947 and in 1950s when India become Republic , India’s modern Rupee reverted back to the design of signature Rupee coin. The symbol chosen for the paper currency was the Lion capital at Sarnath which replaced the George VI series of bank notes. So, the first banknote printed by the Independent India was a 1 rupee note.

Do you know the history of 1 rupee note: One rupee note was issued on 30 November,1917 under the British Raj. During the first world war British domination was there. At that time one rupee coin was a silver coin. But because of the war, condition became worse and one rupee coin of silver was not able to generate. And due to this first time in front of people one rupee note issued and the image of George V was inbuilt in the note. Printed in England this one rupee note value was very less as compared to others.

Source: www.google.co.in

In 1969 Reserve Bank of India issued the Mahatma Gandhi Birth Centenary Commemorative design series on Rs 5 and Rs 10 notes.

And amazing thing is that the vignette of the Sailing Boat or Dhow remained on the reverse of the Ten Rupees for over 40 years.

Source:www.google.co.in

In 1959 a special issue of rupees ten and Rupees One Hundred were issued for the Indian Haj Pilgrims so, that they can exchange it with local currency in Saudi Arabia.

Even in 1917-1918 the Nizam of Hyderabad had given the privilege to print and issue their own currency.

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In World War I , due to shortage of metal the princely states of Morvi and Dhrangadhra issued currency notes of limited liability known as Harvala .

During World War II also because of shortage of metal, 36 Princely States mainly Gujarat, Rajasthan, Sind, Baluchistan and Central provinces issued paper tokens instead of coins.

Finally, in 1996 The Mahatma Gandhi series of paper notes were introduced.

Source: www.1.bp.blogspot.com

Always we see the picture of smiling Mahatma Gandhi on our notes which remains same on currency notes. Some says that Picture of Mahatma Gandhi is a drawn caricature but this is not true. Actually in reality this picture was taken by an unknown photographer in 1946 and from there it is cropped and used everywhere. The Picture is given below:

Mahatma Gandhi was standing with next to Lord Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence. He was a great politician and a leader of the woman suffrage movement in Great Britain. This picture was taken at the former Viceroy House, which is at present known as Rashtrapati Bhavan . And this image is used on the Mahatma Gandhi series of bank notes which was introduced by RBI in 1996.

Devaluation of Indian Rupee: Reasons & History Since 1947

In November 2001 , Rs 5 denomination was issued with Mahatma Gandhi image in front and back side of it shows farm mechanization process i.e. the progress through agriculture.

In June 1996 , Rs 10 was issued with front image of Gandhi and at reverse it represents the fauna of India which symbolises the biodiversity.

Earlier in 1981 , Rs 10 consists of the lion capital our emblem at front of it and at reverse it represents our Indian Art of peacock which is our national bird.

Source: www.banknotes.com

In August 2001 , Rs 20 was issued with same front image of Gandhi and at reverse was the image of Palm trees from the Mount Harriet and Port Blair lighthouse as viewed from Megapode Resort, PortBlair.

Earlier in 1983-84 , Rs 20 bank note was issued in which at reverse of it consists of the Buddhist wheel .

Where do Printing of Security Papers, Notes and Minting take Place in India?

In March 1997 , Rs 50 was issued consisting of Mahatma Gandhi image at front of it and at reverse Indian Parliament.

In June 1996 , Rs 100 was issued with front image of Mahatma Gandhi and at reverse of it represents Himalaya Mountains .

In October 1997 , Rs 500 was issued at which front image is of Mahatma Gandhi and at reverse of it was the image which represents the Dandi March i.e. Salt Satyagraha which was considered as the wider Civil Disobedience Movement launched by Gandhi Ji on 12 March, 1930 against the British salt domination in India. In which Gandhi Ji and his followers will marched from his Sabarmati Ashram near Ahmedabad to the Dandi, a coastal village in Navsari dist Gujarat and prepared salt without paying tax to the British Government . In this way Salt law was broken by Gandhi on 5 th April 1930.

In November 2000 , Rs 1000 was issued with the front image of Gandhi and at reverse of it represents the economy of India which has Grain Harvesting i.e. agricultural sector, oil rig; manufacturing sector, Space Satellite dish; Science & research, Metallurgy; Mines & Minerals and a Girl working on a computer; Inclusive Technology.

Source: www upload.wikimedia.org

After 2000, details of Indian Currency Notes are given in the form of table:

Get here current GK and GK quiz questions in English and Hindi for India , World, Sports and Competitive exam preparation. Download the Jagran Josh Current Affairs App .

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Fascinating History Of The Indian Rupee And It’s Evolution

The rupee which we keep in our pocket has a mysterious past. Behind Mahatma Gandhi’s smiling face lies a long history of struggle, exploration, and wealth that can be traced back to the ancient India of the sixth century BC.

Let’s demystify this history of the Indian rupee and know about how Indian currency has evolved over the ages into the rupee of today.

The word ‘Rupee’ has been derived from the Sanskrit word Rupyakam , meaning a silver coin. It owes its origin to Rupiya , issued by Sher Shah Suri in 1540-45. Today, the Reserve Bank of India issues currency under the RBI Act 1934.

History of the Indian rupee

The history of the Indian rupee traces back to ancient India in circa sixth century BCE.  Ancient India was one of the earliest issuers of coins in the world, along with the Chinese wen and Lydian staters. The first Indian coins were minted by the Mahajanpadas (the Republic Kingdoms of ancient India) known as Puranas, Karshapanas or Panas. These Mahajanapadas included Gandhara, Kuntala, Kuru, Panchala, Shakya, Surasena, and Saurashtra.

These coins were made of silver and a standard weight but with irregular shapes and different markings like Saurashtra had a humped bull, Dakshin Panchala had a Swastika and Magadha had several symbols.

Then first Maurya emperor Chandragupta Maurya came up with the Punch Marked Coins minting of silver, gold, copper, or lead. Indo-Greek Kushan kings introduced the Greek custom of engraving portraits on the coins. Chanakya, prime minister to the first Mauryan emperor mentioned the minting of coins such as Rupyarupa (silver),  Suvarnarupa (gold), Tamararupa (copper) and Sisarupa (lead) in his Arthashastra treatise.

The Turkish Sultans of Delhi had replaced the royal designs of Indian kings with Islamic calligraphy by the twelfth century AD. The currency was made up of gold, silver and copper known as Tanka and the lower valued coins known as Jittals . The Delhi Sultanate also attempted to standardise the monetary system by issuing coins of different values.

The Mughal Empire from 1526 AD consolidated the monetary system for the entire empire. In this era, the evolution of the rupee occurred when Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun and issued a silver coin of 178 gms known as Rupiya and these coins were remained in use during the Mughal period, Maratha era and British India.

When the British East India Company set itself up in India in the 1600s, Sher Shah’s silver Rupiya had remained popular. Despite many attempts to introduce the sterling pound in India, the Rupaiya grew in popularity and was even exported as a currency to other British colonies.

The British Empire

In the 18th Century, the Bank of Hindostan General Bank in Bengal and the Bengal Bank became the first banks in India to issue paper currency. During this time paper money was first issued in British India.

After the 1857 revolt, the British made the rupee the official currency of colonial India, with the head of King George VI replacing native designs on banknotes and coins.

In the 19th century, the British introduced paper money into the subcontinent. The Paper Currency Act of 1861 gave the Government the monopoly of notes issued throughout the vast expanse of British India, which was a considerable task. Eventually, the management of paper currency was entrusted to the Mint Masters, the Accountant Generals and the Controller of Currency.

A series carrying the portrait of George V was introduced in 1923 and was continued as an integral feature of all paper money issues of British India. These notes were issued in denominations of Rs 1, 2½, 5, 10, 50, 100, 1,000, 10,000.

The Reserve Bank of India was formally inaugurated on Monday, April 1, 1935, with its Central Office in Calcutta. Section 22 of the RBI Act, 1934, empowered it to continue issuing Government of India notes until its own notes were ready for issue. The bank issued the first five rupee note bearing the portrait of George VI in 1938. This was followed by Rs. 10 in February, Rs 100 in March and Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 in June 1938. The first Reserve Bank issues were signed by the second Governor, Sir James Taylor.

The first paper currency issued by the Reserve Bank of India was a five rupee note bearing King George VI’s portrait, in January 1938.

After gaining Independence in 1947, India’s modern Rupee reverted back to the design of the signature Rupee coin. The symbol chosen for the paper currency was the Lion Capital at Sarnath which replaced the George VI series of banknotes. So, the first banknote printed by Independent India was a 1 rupee note .

The "Anna Series" was introduced on 15 August 1950. This was the first coinage of the Republic of India.

The King's image was replaced by Ashoka's Lion Capital. A corn sheaf replaced the tiger on the one rupee coin. The monetary system was retained with one rupee consisting of 16 Annas. The 1955 Indian Coinage (Amendment) Act, which came into force with effect from 1 April 1957, introduced a "Decimal series". The rupee was now divided into 100 'Paisa' instead of 16 Annas or 64 Pice.

In order to aid the blind in the country, each coin had distinctly different shapes – the round 1 naya paisa, scalloped edge 2 naya paisa, the square 5 naya paisa, and the scalloped edge 10 naya paisa.

In 1959 a special issue of rupees ten and Rupees One Hundred were issued for the Indian Haj Pilgrims so that they could exchange it with local currency in Saudi Arabia.

In 1969 Reserve Bank of India issued the Mahatma Gandhi Birth Centenary Commemorative design series on Rs 5 and Rs 10 notes.

In 1980 new notes were issued with symbols of science & tech (Aryabhatta on Rs 2 note), progress (oil rig on Rs 1 and farm mechanisation on Rs 5) and Indian art forms on Rs 20 and Rs 10 notes (Konark wheel, peacock).

In 1987 Rs 500 note was introduced due to the growing economy and fall in purchasing power.

In 1996 the Mahatma Gandhi series of notes was issued, starting with Rs 10 and Rs 500 notes. This series has replaced all notes of the Lion capital series. A changed watermark, windowed security thread, latent image and intaglio features for the visually handicapped were the new features.

On July 15, 2010, India introduced a new currency symbol, the Indian rupee sign, ₹.

In 2011, 25 paise coins and all paise coins below it were demonetised. New series of 50 paise coins and Rs 1, Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 10 notes with the new rupee symbol introduced.

November 8, 2016

The Republic of India witnessed the second major monetary reform in November 2016 when it withdrew the legal tender status of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations of banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series issued by the Reserve Bank of India till November 8, 2016.

The new banknotes were introduced in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, highlighting the cultural heritage and scientific achievements of the country. Distinct colours were used for the different denominations and sizes were reduced. Two new denominations viz. Rs 2000 on November 08, 2016, and Rs 200 on August 23, 2017, were introduced in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series.

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Indian Rupee Sign

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What is the Indian Rupee Sign?

The Indian rupee sign, represented by ₹, is the official symbol for the Indian rupee, the currency of India. The symbol was introduced in 2010 and is derived from the Devanagari letter "र" (Ra). The horizontal line at the top can be seen as a representation of the Indian flag. The sign is also reminiscent of the Latin letter "R", which stands for "rupee".

The Indian rupee is the official currency of India. It has a storied history and has been in use since ancient times, with the earliest references dating back to the times of the Maurya Empire. The current decimalized system, dividing the rupee into 100 equal parts called "paise", was introduced post-independence, in 1957.

Guidelines for Using the Indian Rupee Sign

The Indian Rupee symbol, denoted as ₹, represents the official currency of India. When referring to amounts, especially in international transactions or communications, clarity is paramount. Always use the currency code "INR" for further clarity in contexts with multiple currencies, e.g., ₹1,234.56 (INR) vs. €1,000.23 (EUR) .

• Standard Format for Rupees: ₹1,234.56 This format is standard in India, with the currency symbol preceding the amount, a period as the decimal separator, and commas for thousands separators.
• Symbol Placement: Standard: ₹50
• Decimal Separator: Standard: period as decimal ( ₹4.99 )
• Thousands Separator: Standard in India: comma ( ₹1,234.56 )
• Spacing: Standard: No space between symbol and amount ( ₹50 )
• Official Currency Codes: Always use "INR" for Indian rupee and avoid other abbreviations.

Understanding Indian Rupee and Paise

The Indian currency system consists of both rupees and paise. Their relationship is as follows:

• 1 paisa = ₹0.01
• 100 paise = ₹1
• ₹1 = 100 paise

For amounts less than one rupee, it's common to represent values in paise. However, due to inflation and decreasing value of small coins, transactions in paise are becoming rare. When values are one rupee or more, the Indian Rupee symbol, ₹, is used, e.g., ₹1.75 .

How to Type the Indian Rupee Sign Using Keyboard Shortcuts and Alt Codes

• On Windows: While not directly accessible, you can copy the symbol from the character map or use third-party software for the same.
• On Mac: The rupee symbol may be available through specific keyboard layouts or can be copied from the character viewer.
• On many Linux systems: The method may vary across distributions. Some may allow access to the symbol through the character map or similar tools.
• For HTML coding: Use the named entity ₹ or the numeric entity ₹ .

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2 Quick Ways to Add a Rupee Symbol in Microsoft Word

Last Updated: March 5, 2024

This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff . Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 89,220 times. Learn more...

The new rupee symbol is Unicode compatible and can be inserted into documents with a couple of keyboard shortcuts. This wikiHow shows you how to insert the rupee symbol into a Word document.

Using the Rupee Symbol in Microsoft Word

To insert a rupee symbol in Word, click the Insert tab and select Symbol on the toolbar. Click More symbols , choose (normal text) from the Font menu and Currency symbols from the Subset menu. Select the rupee symbol ₹ from the character list and click Insert .

Using the Insert Function in Word

Using the English (India) Keyboard Layout

• Type language into the search bar in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
• Select Language settings in the search results.
• Under the Preferred languages heading, click Add a language .
• In the menu that pops up, scroll through until you find the English section.
• Select English (India) .
• Wait until the new layout has been added.
• Set English (India) as your preferred keyboard layout.

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Home » Tech Tips » Shortcuts » How to Type Indian Rupee Symbol ₹ with Keyboard?

How to Type Indian Rupee Symbol ₹ with Keyboard?

Rupee is a common currency used by many Asian countries. India is one of the prominent country using rupee as their currency symbol . Earlier days people simply type Indian rupee symbol as Rs. However, you can easily type the formal Indian rupee currency symbol ₹ using alt code keyboard shortcuts in Windows and Mac computers.

Keyboard Shortcuts Summary

Below is the shortcuts summary of Indian rupee symbol in Windows and Mac.

Typing Indian Rupee in Windows

On Windows based documents like Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, you can type Indian rupee symbol using alt code shortcuts .

• Hold alt key and type 8377 using numeric keypad to make Indian rupee symbol like ₹.
• If you don’t have a numeric keypad, type 20B9 using normal number keys and then press alt + x keys. However, this method only works on Microsoft Word documents. You can copy and paste the symbol from Word to other documents.

Typing Indian Rupee in Mac

Similar to Windows, you can type rupee sign in Mac using alt or option key .

• Press option key and then type 20B9 keys to make rupee symbol like ₹. In order to use this method, you should first change the keyboard input method to Unicode Hex Input method .
• If you are not able to use Unicode input on Mac, then the easy way is to use emoji keyboard. Press, “Control + Command + Space” to open emoji keyboard or Character Viewer app. Search for “rupee” to find and insert rupee sign.

Typing Indian Rupee in Web Documents

Besides Windows and Mac, you can also insert Indian rupee symbol in HTML and other web documents.

• Use the decimal escape entity code like &# 8377; or hexadecimal escape entity code like &#x 20B9; to insert the symbol.
• On CSS and JavaScript documents, use the hexadecimal code in the format \20B9; and \u20B9 respectively.

Below are the code examples for HTML and CSS.

Indian Rupee Symbol Browser Display

Related indian rupee symbols.

As mentioned, people also use Rs to indicate Indian rupee sign. Rs is also a formal Unicode symbol with a assigned codepoint. In addition, few local Indian languages also have their own rupee symbol to indicate Indian rupee in their language.

Remember, many countries in the world use Rupee as a name for their currency. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives, Seychelles and Indonesia are some of the countries currently using Rupee as currency. Some countries like Burma formerly use Rupee and later changed to different currency. Though the currency name is same, each of the country has completely different physical note and value. These currencies also have their unique written form which you can use in formal documents and emails. Sri Lanka uses their rupee sign as Rs with the the codepoint 20A8 or ௹ with the codepoint 0BF9.

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Leave your reply.

for mac ₹—–>option+4

Option + 4 makes cent symbol ¢ in Mac with ABC layout.

1st: select keyboard option English(India) from Language Prefrence setting or press windows + space 2nd: hold Ctrl + alt + Number 4 button which shows dollar sign

By following above 2 steps you can easily type ₹ symbol on any application, like, chrome, MS word, Excel, email and others

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