


The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report of 2013 found that the Indian rupee was the ninth most counterfeited currency in terms of its value and stood third in terms of the number of fake notes detected around the world. INR is among the top 10 most counterfeited currencies of the world It has remained the standard currency for a few centuries before paper money was introduced in India under the British colonial government. Historians believe that the turning point for the Indian currency occurred during the rule of Sher Shah Suri, the founder of the Suri Empire, who issued a silver coin named rupiya, equivalent to 40 copper pieces. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, all Arab states of the Persian Gulf (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, Burma, German East Africa, the Trucial States, and Tibet. Therefore, it’s a very popular currency name in Asia. The word ‘rupee’ derives from the Sanskrit word “rupyah”, literally meaning “shaped silver” which essentially is what a silver coin is. Thus, the rupee sign bridges the gap between cultures giving it a universal identity. The designer used the Devanagari letter ‘Ra’ and the Roman capital letter ‘R’ found at the beginning of the word Rupiah in Hindi and Rupees in English. The design philosophy of the symbol unites the traditional Indian Devanagari script and internationally accepted Latin script. The winning proposal was chosen as the one that typifies India’s international identity for money transactions and economic strength. During the contest, thousands of concept entries were received by the Ministry of Finance. It was adopted only in 2010, after an open competition among Indian residents. The Indian Rupee official symbol ₹ was designed by the Indian academic and designer Udaya Kumar. Rupee had no symbolic representation until 2010

Furthermore, the rupee has advanced 1.3% this March, becoming the only currency in Asia to strengthen amid this month’s crash in risk assets. The official currency of India – the Indian rupee (INR) – remained one of the best-performing Asian currencies in 2020 despite the most stringent lockdowns introduced by the national government amidst the pandemic. Top 10 interesting facts about the Indian rupee.
