Tamil Nadu Drops ‘₹’ For Rupee, Replaces With Tamil Symbol — Know What It Means

A day before Tamil Nadu Budget 2025-26, Chief Minister MK Stalin released financial statement of the state replacing the rupee symbol (₹) with a Tamil language symbol (ரூ) representing the Indian currency. However, previously Budget documents of Tamil Nadu used to carry ‘₹’ symbol.

The CM released the statement with a caption on X stating, “Everything for everyone”, underscoring the government’s commitment to inclusive governance. The symbolic move is being seen as a reaffirmation of Tamil cultural identity and linguistic pride in official documents. 

எல்லார்க்கும் எல்லாம்

தமிழ்நாடு நிதிநிலை அறிக்கை 2025-26#TNBudget2025 pic.twitter.com/IByroduZbP

— CMOTamilNadu (@CMOTamilnadu) March 13, 2025

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BJP Reacts

Immediately after the release, Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai took to X and said, “The DMK Government’s State Budget for 2025-26 replaces the Rupee Symbol designed by a Tamilian, which was adopted by the whole of Bharat and incorporated into our Currency. Thiru Udhay Kumar, who designed the symbol, is the son of a former DMK MLA.  How stupid can you become, Thiru @mkstalin?”

Indian Currency Symbol

The Indian currency symbol was reportedly designed to reflect the nation’s commitment to reducing economic disparity.

The symbol’s design merges the Devanagari letter ⟨र⟩ (“ra”) with a stylized Latin capital letter ⟨R⟩, omitting its vertical bar. The two parallel lines at the top, separated by white space, symbolise the Indian tricolour and resemble an equality sign.

Tamil Nadu Currency Symbol

In Tamil Nadu, the currency symbol (ரூ) is the first letter of the word rupee in Tamil, ‘rubaai’ (ரூபாய்).

ரூபாய் (Rūpāy) is the standard term used to refer to the Indian currency in Tamil.

Meanwhile, with the state budget set to be presented on Friday, all eyes are on the key fiscal policies and allocations the government will introduce for the coming year.