What does this symbol mean?
The winning entry from IIT Bombay student D Udaya Kumar is a blend of ‘Ra’ in Devanagri script and ‘R’ in Roman. Two parallel lines crossing this ‘Ra’ or ‘R’ denote the symbol “is equal to” one Indian rupee. It also denotes the stability of the economy. The design is based on the tricolour, with two lines at the top and white space in between.

Where will the new symbol be seen?

• Replaces the Rs, Re, INR that is used at present.
• Will NOT be used on currency notes and coins.
• For Indian Market, the Keyboards will have the rupee symbol to facilitate ease of use.
• For External market, the IT companies will have to incorporate the symbol in their operative software to enable the computer users worldwide to use the symbol even if it is not embedded on the keyboards. (This will be on the lines of Euro symbol, which is not embedded on the keyboards used in India).

How long will this process take?
It Could take up to 24 months for the complete shift as the government will use the time for its incorporation in the Unicode Standard, International standard ISO, Indian Script Code for Information Interchange (ISCII: The ISCII specifies various codes for Indian languages for processing on computers along with keyboard layouts).