The Indian rupee gets new design

Emperor Sher Shah Suri first issued the rupiya. The modern India has adopted most of its national symbols and motifs from it. In the near future the country might be having a new symbol to denote its currency.

Which used to be once a medieval silver coin has aspired to be a major global currency alongside the US dollar ($), the British sterling pound (£), the euro (e),the yen (¥) and the renminbi. Last year government decided that Indian rupee should be uniquely identified and instantly recognized, so it announced a contest to select a symbol to replace the notation Rs. The word rupee and the notation Rs is being used by other countries in the region, such as Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka.

Among many participants, a shy 31-year-old Tamil Nadu-born researcher, who was also the first Indian scholar to be awarded a PhD in industrial design, for his work on ancient Tamil typography, design of a national symbol will come to be recognized around the world. The new symbol has a combination of Hindi and Roman scripts. Government final decision has come 17 months after the contest was announced.

D Udaya Kumar, the winner of the contest, told ET, “This is possibly the greatest achievement of my life.” Few people get to start their careers on such a professional and creative high.

The Indian rupee has grown in stature since economic and financial sector reforms started in 1991. At present the old symbol is highly recognized in the world market and under the control of the Reserve Bank of India it has remained steady while many major currencies, especially the euro, have been battered by the storm in financial markets. Earlier the rupee exchange rate was Rs 17.5 against the US dollar in 1990, when the country faced a severe balance of payment crisis today rupee is in strong position at 46.21 against the dollar. India’s foreign exchange reserves are now at $279 billion, a stark contrast to March 1990, when the $3.96 billion of reserves were sufficient only for three weeks worth of imports.

However the brand experts have applauded the new symbol. Brand consultant Harish Bijoor said, “The new symbol is an amalgamation of being heritage-oriented and modern. In that sense, it rightly portrays the transformation of India from an underdeveloped country in the past to a fast-developing nation now and a developed one in the future. The new symbol only needs to be marketed well now.” If money-changing counters at airports around the world choose to add Udaya Kumar’s symbol to their display boards can be a good measure of the currency’s global reach. Though, the new symbol will gain currency gradually. Man working at IIT Guwahati design labs will be proud and happy watching it happens.