Tamil Nadu drops official rupee symbol from state Budget amid language row

The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has decided to remove the official rupee symbol (₹) from the state’s Budget 2025, replacing it with the Tamil script. This marks the first time a state has rejected the national currency symbol, taking its resistance to the National Education Policy (NEP) to a new level.

The decision to remove ₹ symbol from the state Budget comes amid the ongoing tussle between Tamil Nadu with the Centre over alleged Hindi imposition. Tamil Nadu's refusal to implement key aspects of NEP 2020, particularly the three-language formula, has resulted in the Centre withholding Rs 573 crore in central education assistance under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

According to policy rules, states must comply with NEP guidelines to receive SSA funding, of which 60 per cent is provided by the Centre to states like Tamil Nadu. The DMK-led government in the state argues that through the NEP, the BJP-led central government wants to force Hindi learning on the Tamil-speaking population.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has rejected these claims, accusing the ruling DMK of trying to score political brownies to "revive" the ruling party's fortunes. "Opposition to NEP 2020 has nothing to do with preservation of Tamil pride, language and culture," he said in a post on X.

When was ₹ symbol adopted?

The Indian rupee symbol (₹) was officially adopted on July 15, 2010, following a design competition announced by the Indian government on March 5, 2009. The winning design, created by D Udaya Kumar, combines elements of the Devanagari letter 'र' (ra) and the Latin capital letter 'R' without its vertical bar. The parallel lines at the top are said to represent the Indian tricolor flag and also depict an equality sign symbolizing the nation's desire to reduce economic disparity.

During the 2010 Union Budget, then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced the intention to introduce a symbol that would reflect and capture the Indian ethos and culture. This announcement led to a public competition, resulting in the selection of the current design.

The new symbol was subsequently incorporated into currency notes and coins, with the first series of coins bearing the ₹ symbol entering circulation on July 8, 2011.