Progression of the Indian Rupee

The Indian Rupee is one of the most entrenched currencies existing in the world. It is believed that India is significantly known for the development of coinage in the history of mankind. The earliest coins were introduced in around the 6th century and later paper money was put into the figure. Since the concept of coinage the Indian Rupee is respected as the national currency that beholds high amount of value and popularity.

The term ‘Rupee’ is taken from a Sanskrit word ‘rupyakam’ that means ‘silver coin’. The term was used because the all the earliest coins were made of silver.gradually, the number system became popular and the Rupee became the official currency of many countries including India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Maldives.

It is believed that the Indian currency was introduced in the 16th century by Sher Shah Suri. Gradually the dominance of Mughals started retreating with the invasion of British under whose reign paper money was introduced. In the year 1770, the earliest bank note was issued by the Bank of Hindustan which paved way for other private and presidency banks as well. For about 100 years these notes were issued by the bank but later on in the year 1861 the issue of notes was dominated by the Government of the British India with the introduction of The Paper Currency Act. The first series of notes issued by the government was the Victoria portrait series that was uni-faced and this was later substituted by the underprint series in the year 1867. This series kept on changing with advancements and change of rule till 1947. The old bank notes were thrown away from the market after independence and later on the Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait series was introduced in the year 1996.

The current Mahatma Gandhi series has many unique features like the Mahatma Gandhi watermark, silver security, latent image, micro-lettering, fluorescence, optically viable ink, and back to back registration. But the features are now ought to change.

After a long period of time, the Indian Rupee is all set to have a new and unique symbol. The Union Government of India has already given approval for this symbol designed by an IIT student D Uday Kumar.

The proposed Indian Rupee symbol will be characterized by a blend of the Devanagri ‘Ra’ and Roman ‘R’. With this it will have its own distinctive identity highlighting the global face of the Indian Economy. Reflecting its international influence the new symbol will be at par with other elite currencies like the US dollar, British pound and Japanese yen.

After such a long period of time it would really be difficult for all to accept the new structure and design of the Indian Rupee. But the fact remains that it will change in a span of six months so its time to get prepared for a completely new view and feel of the Indian Rupee.

For more information check Rupee Symbol.