Indian rupee
The
Indian Rupee () is the official
currency of
India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the
Reserve Bank of India. The most commonly used symbol for the Rupee is Rs, ₨, or रू. The
ISO 4217 code for the India Rupee is INR.
In most parts of India, the Rupee is known as the Rupee, Rupaye, Rubai, or one of other terms derived from the
Sanskrit rupyakam (Devnagari:रूप्यकम्) , raupya meaning silver; rupyakam meaning (coin) of silver. However, in the
Bengali and
Assamese languages, spoken in
Assam,
Tripura, and
West Bengal, the Rupee is known as a
Taka, symbol ৳, and is written as such on
Indian banknotesThe Indian Rupee is subdivided into 100
paise (singular paisa). As is standard in
Indian English, large values of Indian rupees are counted in terms of thousand,
lakh (100 thousand, in digits
1,00,000), and
crore (10 million, in digits 1,00,00,000). Use of million or billion, as is standard in
American or
British English, is far less used.
Main article:
History of the rupee |
British Indian 1 Rupee, 1917 |
|
French Indian 1 Rupee, 1938 |
India has been one of the earliest issuers of coins in the world (circa 6th Century BC). The first "rupee" is believed to be introduced by
Sher Shah Suri (1486-1545), based on a ratio of 40 copper-coin pieces (paisa) per rupee. Among the earliest issues of paper rupees were those by the
Bank of Hindostan (1770-1832), the
General Bank of Bengal and Bihar (1773-75, established by
Warren Hastings), the
Bengal Bank (1784-91), amongst others.
Historically, the rupee, derived from the
Sanskrit word raupya, which means
silver, was a silver coin. This had severe consequences in the
nineteenth century, when the strongest economies in the world were on the
gold standard. The discovery of vast quantities of silver in the
U.S. and various European colonies resulted in a decline in the relative value of silver to gold. Suddenly the standard currency of India could not buy as much from the outside world. This event was known as "the fall of the Rupee."
During British rule, and the first decade of independence, it was subdivided into 16
Annas. Each Anna was subdivided into either 4
paise, or 12
pies. Until 1815, the
Madras Presidency also issued a currency based on the
fanam, with 12 fanams equal to the rupee.
Following independence in 1947, the Indian rupee replaced all the currencies of the previously autonomous states. Some of these states had issued rupees equal to those issued by the British (such as the
Travancore rupee). Other currencies included the
Hyderabad rupee and the
Kutch kori.
In
1957,
decimalisation occurred and the rupee was now divided into 100 Naye Paise (Hindi for
new paisas). After a few years, the initial "Naye" was dropped. However many still refer to 25, 50 & 75 paise as 4, 8 and 12 annas respectively, not unlike the now largely defunct usage of "
bit" in American English for 1/8 dollar.
The Indian rupee replaced the
Danish Indian rupee in 1845, the
French Indian rupee in 1954 and the
Portuguese Indian escudo in 1961.
With
Partition, the
Pakistani Rupee came into existence, initially using Indian coins, and Indian currency notes simply overstamped with
Pakistan. In previous times, the Indian Rupee was regarded as an official currency of other countries, including
Kuwait,
Bahrain,
Qatar, the
Trucial States (now the
UAE), and
Malaysia.The Gulf Rupee, also known as the Persian
Gulf Rupee (XPGR), was introduced by the Indian government as a replacement for the Indian Rupee for circulation exclusively outside the country with the Reserve Bank of India [Amendment] Act,
May 1,
1959. This creation of a separate currency was an attempt to reduce the strain put on India's foreign reserves by gold smuggling. After India devalued the rupee on
June 6,
1966, those countries still using it - Oman, Qatar and what is now the United Arab Emirates (known as the Trucial States until 1971) - replaced the Gulf Rupee with their own currencies. Kuwait and Bahrain had already done so in 1961 and 1965 respectively.
The Indian Rupee is also linked with the Bhutanese
Ngultrum. The Indian Rupee is also accepted in
Nepal and some Indian shops in the
United Kingdom.
The coins in circulation are 25 paise, 50 paise, Re. 1, Rs. 2 and Rs. 5.
5, 10, and 20 paise coins, although valid, have become increasingly rare in regular usage.The currency notes in circulation are Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000. The current series which began in 1996 is called the
Mahatma Gandhi series.
All the coins and currency notes are issued by the Reserve Bank of India, except the Re. 1 note which was traditionally issued by the Government of India until it was withdrawn from circulation. Each banknote has its amount written in 17 languages (English & Hindi on the front, and 15 others on the back) illustrating the diversity of the country.
ATMs usually give Rs. 100 and Rs. 500 notes, but not Rs. 1000 notes. Therefore, Rs. 1000 notes are analogous to the higher valued notes of
United States dollar and
euro.
Language panel
|
Language panel on an Indian banknote |
The language panel on Indian rupee banknotes display the denomination of the note in all the
national languages of India.
Tactile features
Indian currency notes and coins have various tactile and visual features to assist significantly large number of its illiterate population, and help in speedy identification of various denominations.
*Size — All notes and coins have different sizes.
*Colour — All notes have different colour combinations.
*Texture — Most of the higher denomination notes have their denominations and some of the features embossed. Also, different geometric shapes (triangle, rectangle, etc.) are embossed on left of watermark window for visually impaired.
Security features
*Watermark — White side panel of notes has Mahatma Gandhi watermark.
*Security thread — All notes have a silver security band with inscriptions visible when held against light.
*Latent image — Higher denominational notes display note's denominational value in numerals when held horizontally at eye level.
*Microlettering — Numeral denominational value is visible under magnifying glass between security thread and watermark.
*Fluorescence — Number panels glow under ultra-violet light.
*Optically variable ink — Notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 have their numerals printed in optically variable ink. Number appears green when note is held flat but changes to blue when viewed at angle.
*Back-to-back registration — Floral design printed on front and back of note coincides when viewed against light.
*
Problem of the Rupee Book by B. R. Ambedkar. History of the Rupee till 1923 A.D.
*
Banknotes of India*
Gallery of current and historical Indian banknotes*
History and Learning about banknotes from India
