On Thursday, India unveiled a symbol for its rupee currency that it hopes will become as globally recognised as signs for the dollar, the yen, the pound and the euro. The rupee is currently referred to by the abbreviations "Rs", "Re" or "INR", though it remains uncertain whether the new symbol will be widely taken up. Udaya Kumar, a post-graduate student at the Indian Institute of Technology, submitted the design which beat 3,000 other entries in a national competition to win a cash prize of 250,000 rupees (5,350 dollars).
Photo by Getty images: Udaya Kumar and his winning design.
Speaking to the Indian news website Rediff.com Udaya Kumar said:
"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. It is a perfect blend of Indian and Roman letters: a capital 'R' and Devanagari 'ra' which represents rupiya, to appeal to international audiences and Indian audiences."
"This establishes the arrival of the Indian currency as a robust currency on an international platform and I think every Indian should be proud about it," Ambika Soni, the minister for information, told reporters.
"Once accepted, it will stand clear from the clutter of currencies that call themselves rupee or the rupiah," India's Telegraph reported.
The government plans to introduce the symbol on computers shortly and to have it in regular international use within two years. India's economy has experienced rapid growth since liberalisation reforms in the early 1990s reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, and the country is widely forecast to become a global superpower. The Indian government predicts the economy will grow by 8.5 percent this fiscal year and should hit double-digit expansion within five years.
Photo by Getty images: Udaya Kumar and his winning design.Speaking to the Indian news website Rediff.com Udaya Kumar said:
"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. It is a perfect blend of Indian and Roman letters: a capital 'R' and Devanagari 'ra' which represents rupiya, to appeal to international audiences and Indian audiences."
"This establishes the arrival of the Indian currency as a robust currency on an international platform and I think every Indian should be proud about it," Ambika Soni, the minister for information, told reporters.
"Once accepted, it will stand clear from the clutter of currencies that call themselves rupee or the rupiah," India's Telegraph reported.
The government plans to introduce the symbol on computers shortly and to have it in regular international use within two years. India's economy has experienced rapid growth since liberalisation reforms in the early 1990s reduced controls on foreign trade and investment, and the country is widely forecast to become a global superpower. The Indian government predicts the economy will grow by 8.5 percent this fiscal year and should hit double-digit expansion within five years.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Rediff.com, AFP.
