Rupee becomes only 5th currency to get a symbol

NEW DELHI: In keeping with India's growing economic might and its status as a major investment destination, the hitherto humble rupee is all set to get a distinct identity in the form of a new symbol. The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its approval to the symbol which combines the Roman letter 'R' with the Devnagri 'Ra' . 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. Till now, the Indian currency was simply denoted by Rs or INR. Kumar's symbol was chosen after a public competition was held among resident Indian citizens inviting entries for a symbol which '' reflects and captures the Indian ethos and culture'' . Over 3,000 entries were received. These were evaluated by a jury headed by the RBI deputy governor , which included experts from reputed art and design institutes. '' The entries were presented to the jury in such a manner that the identity of the competitors was not revealed to the jury members . The jury selected five final entries and also gave its evaluation of these five entries to the government to take a final decision,'' said Soni.

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