Rupee Symbol Creator Udaya Kumar Reacts To Row Over TN Govt Replacing '₹' Symbol: 'I Never Expected...'

Indian rupee sign row: The Tamil Nadu government earlier decided to replace the Devanagari-style rupee symbol '₹' with a Tamil letter in its budget logo.

IIT Guwahati Professor D Udaya Kumar said that he designed the symbol 15 years ago when the then Central government floated a competition and he won it.

Source : X

Indian rupee sign row: IIT Guwahati Professor D Udaya Kumar, the creator of India’s official rupee symbol “₹,” has distanced himself from the controversy surrounding the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to replace the Devanagari-style rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in its budget logo. In a statement, Professor Udaya Kumar clarified that the use of symbols is a governmental decision and that he has no involvement in the matter. However, the move has sparked a political debate, with critics accusing the DMK-led state government of prioritising regional identity over national symbols.

On Tamil Nadu govt replacing the Rupee symbol (₹) with Tamil symbol 'Ru' on the State Budget, IIT Guwahati Professor Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, who had designed the Indian rupee symbol, told ANI, "... I don't have complete information behind the reasons of this change, probably the state government has their own ways, views, and reasons to make the changes."

He said that he designed the symbol 15 years ago when the then Central government floated a competition and he won it. Further, he said that the Centre then implemented the symbol and it's widely been used.

"I am really happy about being the designer of this symbol, but I never expected such a debate to ever occur...It just somehow took this turn and now there are a lot of concerns going on about the symbol itself," he said. 

Udhaya Kumar is a Tamilian and his father was a former DMK MLA. 

#WATCH | Assam: On Tamil Nadu govt replacing the Rupee symbol (₹) with Tamil symbol 'Ru' on the State Budget, IIT Guwahati Professor Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, who had designed the Indian rupee symbol, says, "... I don't have complete information behind the reasons of this… pic.twitter.com/NXn9ZBgwPe

— ANI (@ANI) March 14, 2025

 

BJP Slams DMK Over Symbol Change

The BJP has strongly criticised the Tamil Nadu government’s decision with BJP National IT Incharge Amit Malviya highlighting the irony of the situation. Taking to X, Malviya said, "More embarrassment for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. The ₹ symbol was designed by Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, a Tamilian and the son of a former DMK MLA. The irony doesn’t stop there—the symbol was adopted in 2010 when the Congress was in power at the Centre and the DMK governed the state."

"None other than P. Chidambaram, another Tamilian and a DMK ally, felicitated Dr. Udaya Kumar for the design," he said.