Don’t want to use Devanagari: Official on TN changing rupee symbol on state Budget
The use of the rupee symbol has been a topic of controversy in India, especially with the recent move by the Tamil Nadu government to change the official rupee symbol on its state budget logo to the Tamil letter for “Ru”. The decision has sparked a debate among the public, with some supporting the move and others opposing it. In a recent statement, State Planning Commission Executive Vice-Chairman J Jeyaranjan clarified the reason behind the change, stating that the government does not want to use Devanagari.
The controversy began with the release of the Tamil Nadu government’s 2025-26 state budget logo, which featured the rupee symbol in Tamil script. The symbol, which is an amalgamation of the Devanagari letter “Ra” and the Roman capital letter “R”, was replaced with the Tamil letter for “Ru”. The move was seen as a move to promote the use of Tamil language and script.
However, the decision has been met with opposition from several quarters. Many have argued that the change is unnecessary and that the Devanagari script is the official script for writing the rupee symbol. Others have pointed out that the change is a step backwards for the Hindi language and script.
J Jeyaranjan, the State Planning Commission Executive Vice-Chairman, has clarified that the government’s decision to change the rupee symbol is not meant to promote the use of Tamil language and script, but rather to avoid using Devanagari. In a statement, he said, “We don’t want to use Devanagari. That’s all.”
The use of the Devanagari script for writing the rupee symbol has been a topic of controversy in the past. In 2010, the then Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, had announced that the government would use a new rupee symbol that would be an amalgamation of the Devanagari letter “Ra” and the Roman capital letter “R”. The new symbol was designed to be a unique and distinct representation of the Indian rupee.
However, the decision to use the Devanagari script for writing the rupee symbol has been met with opposition from several quarters. Many have argued that the script is not widely used in India and that it is not a suitable representation of the rupee symbol. Others have pointed out that the use of the Devanagari script is a step backwards for the Hindi language and script.
The controversy surrounding the use of the rupee symbol is not new. In the past, there have been several instances where the use of the rupee symbol has been met with controversy. In 2011, the then Union Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh, had announced that the government would use a new rupee symbol that would be an amalgamation of the Devanagari letter “Ra” and the Roman capital letter “R”. However, the decision was met with opposition from several quarters and was ultimately scrapped.
The controversy surrounding the use of the rupee symbol is not limited to India. In 2019, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) had announced that it would be changing the symbol for the Indian rupee from “₹” to “Ra”. The decision was met with opposition from several quarters, including the Indian government, and was ultimately scrapped.
In conclusion, the controversy surrounding the use of the rupee symbol is not new and has been a topic of debate for several years. The recent move by the Tamil Nadu government to change the official rupee symbol on its state budget logo to the Tamil letter for “Ru” has sparked a debate among the public, with some supporting the move and others opposing it. The government’s decision to avoid using Devanagari is a step in the right direction, as it will promote the use of the Tamil language and script.
