The decision by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to substitute the Tamil letter "ரூ" for the rupee symbol (₹) in the 2025–26 state budget emblem has caused a political controversy. The BJP has called the move "dumb" and cited the fact that the symbol was created by a Tamilian. Citing its resistance to "Hindi imposition" by the BJP-led Central government, the DMK-led state government substituted "ரூ" for "₹."
Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, the Designer of the iconic rupee symbol says, “I don’t have complete information behind the reasons for this change; probably, the state government has their 15 years ago when the Central government floated a competition, and I won it, after which they implemented it, and it’s being widely used. I have no have no idea what to comment. I am really happy about being the designer of this symbol, but I never expected such a debate to ever occur".
History behind Indian Rupee (₹) Symbol
Chennai-based Tamilian Udaya Kumar created the Indian rupee symbol (₹). After studying architecture at Anna University, Kumar went on to IIT Bombay to specialize in visual design. He honed his typographic skills for years. After thousands of applications, Kumar's design was selected in 2010 to serve as the official currency symbol of India.
"I realised Indian scripts don't have their design repertoire. After two years of trying to create something new in Tamil typography, I realised that I shouldn't work on my own. I needed expert guidance and hence, came to Industrial Design Centre at IIT-Bombay," Kumar had earlier told to media.
He described the process as a challenge by stating, "I spent endless nights on trial and error. The symbol had to have universal design features while staying Indian in spirit."
