India as a country was one of the earliest designers and official traders of coin, and as a result it has seen a wide range of monetary units throughout its history. There is lot of historical evidence to show that the first coins may have been introduced somewhere between 2500 and 1750 BC. However, the first documented coins date from between the 7th/6th century BC to the 1st century AD.
Rupee is the name given to the official currency that is used in several countries including India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mauritius, Maldives and Indonesia. Among all the countries mentioned above, the Indian rupee is the most important with respect to value, preference and popularity.
The Indian rupees and trading system have come across a long history, time immemorial and stood as a true reflection of common man’s expectation. Our currency had been minted with all types of metal, starting from copper to aluminum, each of different shape and size. With the advent of printing technology, new designs and secured parameters became increasingly important in our currency. The portrait of Mahatma Gandhi in the currency notes reflected the values, principles for which India has stood and being globally appreciated –patience and tolerance. The new symbol combines the value of “Bharat” and “New Age India”, an expression raised by the strong billion populations. With the inception of this new symbol, the most exciting factor is the “Brand India” getting into the next league, re iterating the fact of world’s largest democracy. This is not just another brand exercise, but relevance of strong cultural background and diversity at its best.
As the world is limping back to normalcy, there was a need for Indian financial system to reinvent themselves and project a theme, which displays economic prowess, the technical wizard and culture czar of the world to the global markets. After open economy became the talk of the town, India has taken steps at every level to update their growth progress in all the possible fronts. This identity has definitely touched us at different levels and makes us travel across the globe with head held high and flash the notes with pride. The bold statement made by Ms Ambika Soni, minister for Information and Broadcasting clearly reflects the joy and honor of India has definitely has reached another milestone in its glorious history. Ms Soni also said that the State Governments would be impressed upon to encourage the use of the new Rupee symbol and proactively promote its use. The symbol would better distinguish the Indian currency from those countries whose currencies are also designated as Rupee or Rupiah, such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, she added.
Unicode Standard
Software industry experts feel that adoption of the new rupee symbol could take up to 18-24 months. As a first step, the new symbol will have to be included in the Unicode standard — an international encoding scheme used to uniquely identify characters. The symbol will also be included in the Indian standard – Indian script Code for Information Interchange (ISCII). The ISCII specifies various codes for Indian languages for processing on computers along with keyboard layouts. After encoding of the symbol in the Unicode Standard and National Standard, the Nasscom will approach software development companies for incorporating the rupee symbol in their software, as a new programme or as an update. This will enable computer users worldwide to use the symbol even if it is not embedded on the keyboards. (much like the euro symbol, which is not embedded in the keyboards in use in India)
Unfolding the New Identity – A Grand Opening
The new “rupee” symbol is ready for launch in the coming 18 to 24 months. The pride and honor does not just rest with D.Udaya Kumar of IIT Bombay, but with the countless Indians who have always rejoiced and displayed their patriotism in the vivid colors. When this symbol gets into practice, the application and full convertibility are the challenging areas to be looked after. Though the clearance from the cabinet has come, but the official launch is expected to be delayed with technical clearances to be sorted out. The opening of the symbol is sure to end the conservative approach of Indian economy and make the world understand that if $ stands for dollar, world’s most accepted currency, then R stands for rupee is going to rewrite the Your browser may not support display of this image. standards of appreciation.
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