Uday Kumar, an IIT Bombay post-graduate, gives Indian currency "Rupee" a symbol

Uday Kumar (IIT B grad.) with the symbol of Indian Rupee that he designed

Until now the Indian currency "Rupee" has been denoted by the abbreviation 'Rs' or INRs to distinguish it from neighboring countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka which also have rupees as their currencies.

From now onIndia will have the Hindi character closest to 'R' with a horizontal line crossing the middle as the symbol of Indian currency "Rupee".

The new design will now be incorporated into India's IT systems and feature on computer keyboards.

Introducing it into commercial use is expected to be expensive – the advent of the euro in 1999 is believed to have cost companies more than $50 billion.

Ambika Soni, India's information minister, said the new design will "distinguish the rupee from other currencies."

The symbol will catapult the rupee into the company of four ‘elite’ currencies which have similarly distinct identities — the US dollar, euro, yen and British pound.

The symbol has been designed by D Udaya Kumar, an IIT Bombay post-graduate , who has just joined as a teacher at IIT Guwahati. Kumar will receive a prize money of Rs 2.5 lakh for his efforts. The symbol will standardize the expression for the Indian rupee in different languages, both within and outside the country.

‘‘ It’s a big statement on the Indian currency. It would distinguish the rupee from those countries whose currencies are also designated as rupee or rupiah, such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia,’’ I&B minister Ambika Soni said after the Cabinet meeting. The symbol, she added, would reflect the strength and robustness of the Indian economy.

an Indian government official showing the symbol of Indian Rupee