Indian Rupee
रुपया (Hindi)
File:Indian rupees.png
ISO 4217 code	INR
Central bank	Reserve Bank of India
Website	www.rbi.org.in
Official user(s)	India
Unofficial user(s)	Bhutan (alongside the Bhutanese ngultrum)  Nepal (alongside the Nepalese rupee)
Inflation	7.23%, April 2012
Source	eaindustry.nic.in
Method	WPI
Pegged by	Bhutanese ngultrum (at par) Nepalese rupee (1 INR = 1.6 NPR)
Subunit
1/100	Paisa
Symbol	₹
Paisa	p
Formerly used symbols	₨, Rs, ৳, ૱, ௹, रु
Nickname	Taaka(৳), Rupayya, Rūbāi
Coins	50 paise, 1, 2, 5, 10
Banknotes	1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000
Printer	Reserve Bank of India
Website	www.rbi.org.in
Mint	India Government Mint
Website	www.spmcil.com

The Indian rupee (sign: ; code: INR) is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India.^[1]

The modern rupee is subdivided into 100 paise (singular paisa), although this division is now theoretical; as of 30 June 2011, coin denominations of less than 50 paise ceased to be legal tender.^[2][3] Banknotes are available in nominal values of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupees. Rupee coins are available in denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10; the only other rupee coin has a nominal value of 50 paise, since lower denominations have been officially withdrawn.

The Indian rupee symbol (officially adopted in 2010) is derived from the Devanagari consonant "र" (Ra) with an added horizontal bar. The symbol can also be derived from the Latin consonant "R" by removing the vertical line, and adding two horizontal bars (like the symbols for the Japanese yen and the euro). The first series of coins with the rupee symbol was launched on 8 July 2011.

Etymology[link]

• টকা (tôka) in Assamese
• টাকা (taka) in Bengali
• ଟଙ୍କା (tanka) in Oriya
• રૂપિયો (rupiyo) in Gujarati
• रुपया (rupayā) in Hindi
• روپے (rupay) in Kashmiri
• ರೂಪಾಯಿ (rūpāyi) in Kannada, Tulu and Konkani
• रुपया (rupayā) in Konkani
• രൂപ (rūpā) in Malayalam.
• रुपये (rupaye) in Marathi
• रुपियाँ(rupiya) in Nepali and
• ਰੁਪਈਆ (rupiā) in Punjabi
• रूप्यकम् (rūpyakam) in Sanskrit
• ரூபாய் (rūpāi) in Tamil
• రూపాయి (rūpāyi) in Telugu
• روپیہ (rupiah) in Urdu

However, in the Assam Valley, West Bengal, Tripura, Mizoram and Orissa the Indian rupee is officially known by names derived from the word टङ्क (Tanka), which means "money".^[4] Thus, the rupee is called টকা (tôka) in Assamese, টাকা (Taka) in Bengali and ଟଙ୍କା (Tanka) in Oriya. The amount (and the word "rupee") is, accordingly, written on Indian banknotes in 15 Indian languages.^[5]

Symbol[link]

The new sign is a combination of the Devanagari letter "र" (ra) and the Latin capital letter "R" without its vertical bar (similar to the R rotunda). The parallel lines at the top (with white space between them) are said to make an allusion to the tricolor Indian flag^[6] and depict an equality sign, which symbolizes the nation's desire to reduce economic disparity.

Rupee coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5 and 10 with the new rupee symbol have been put into circulation.^{[7] [8]} As of January 2012, the new Indian rupee sign has been incorporated into currency notes in denominations of s 10, 100, 500 and 1000.^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

The character has been encoded in Unicode 6.0, at code position U+20B9 ₹ indian rupee sign (HTML: ₹ graphic:).^[13]

Origin of the Symbol[link]

On 5 March 2009, the Indian government announced a contest to create a sign for the Indian rupee.^[14][15] During the 2010 Union Budget presentation, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee mentioned that the proposed sign would reflect and capture the Indian ethos and culture.^[16] Five signs (created by Nondita Correa-Mehrotra, Hitesh Padmashali, Shibin KK, Shahrukh J Irani and D Udaya Kumar)^[17][18] were short-listed^[18] from 3,331 responses received, and one of them would be finalized at the Union Council of Ministers of India meeting on 24 June 2010.^[19] The decision was deferred by request of the finance minister,^[16] and it was decided when they met again on 15 July 2010^[20] to select the symbol created by D. Udaya Kumar (son of N. Dharmalingam, a former DMK MLA).^[21]

The selection process was challenged under the Right to Information Act in the Delhi High Court. The petitioner, Rakesh Kumar (a participant in the competition), described the process as "full of discrepancies" and "flawed", and named the Finance Ministry and the chairman of Indian Rupee Symbol Selection Committee as respondents.^[22]

On 26 November 2010 the Delhi High Single-Bench Court dismissed the writ petition, stating there was no justifiable grounds for the allegations.^[23] However, on 31 March 2011 the Chief Justice and Justice Sanjiv Khanna of the Delhi High Court allowed RTI activist Rakesh Kumar Singh to file a PIL against the Indian rupee symbol selection process.^[24].

According to guideline number five of the contest, submitted symbols were required to be "in the Indian National Language Script or a visual representation". It has been argued that this violates the Constitution of India, because it does not specify a particular language script as the Indian National Language Script.^[25] On April 25, 2012 the Delhi High court issued a notice to the government of India on the rupee (and other symbols) selection process.^[26]

Numeral system[link]

The Indian numeral system is based on the decimal system, with two notable differences from Western systems using long and short scales. The system is ingrained in everyday monetary transactions in the Indian subcontinent.

For example, the amount 3,25,84,729.25 is read as "three crores, twenty-five lakhs, eighty-four thousand, seven hundred twenty-nine rupees and twenty-five paise". The use of millions (or billions) in the Indian subcontinent depends on the educational background of the speaker and is not universally understood.

History[link]

India[link]

Rupiya issued by Sher Shah Suri, 1540–1545 CE

The first "rupee" is believed to have been introduced by Sher Shah Suri (1486–1545), based on a ratio of 40 copper pieces (paisa) per rupee.^[27] Among the earliest issues of paper rupees were those by the Bank of Hindustan (1770–1832), the General Bank of Bengal and Bihar (1773–75, established by Warren Hastings) and the Bengal Bank (1784–91). Until 1815 the Madras Presidency also issued a currency based on the panam, with 12 panams to the rupee.

Historically, the rupee (derived from the Sanskrit word raupya, meaning "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 large quantities of silver in the U.S. and several European colonies resulted in a decline in the value of silver relative to gold, devaluing India's standard currency. This event was known as "the fall of the rupee".

India was unaffected by the imperial order-in-council of 1825, which attempted to introduce British sterling coinage to the British colonies. British India, at that time, was controlled by the British East India Company. The silver rupee continued as the currency of India through the British Raj and beyond. In 1835, British India adopted a mono-metallic silver standard based on the rupee; this decision was influenced by a letter written by Lord Liverpool in 1805 extolling the virtues of mono-metallism.

Following the Indian Mutiny in 1857, the British government took direct control of British India. Since 1851, gold sovereigns were produced en masse at the Royal Mint in Sydney, New South Wales. In an 1864 attempt to make the British gold sovereign the "imperial coin", the treasuries in Bombay and Calcutta were instructed to receive gold sovereigns; however, these gold sovereigns never left the vaults. As the British government gave up hope of replacing the rupee in India with the pound sterling, it realized for the same reason it could not replace the silver dollar in the Straits Settlements with the Indian rupee (as the British East India Company had desired).

Since the silver crisis of 1873, a number of nations adopted the gold standard; however, India remained on the silver standard until it was replaced by a basket of commodities and currencies in the late 20th century.^{[citation needed]}

The Indian rupee replaced the Danish Indian rupee in 1845, the French Indian rupee in 1954 and the Portuguese Indian escudo in 1961. Following the independence of British India in 1947 and the accession of the princely states to the new Union, the Indian rupee replaced all the currencies of the previously-autonomous states (although the Hyderabadi rupee was not demonetized until 1959). Some of the states had issued rupees equal to those issued by the British (such as the Travancore rupee). Other currencies (including the Hyderabadi rupee and the Kutch kori) had different values.

The values of the subdivisions of the rupee during British rule (and in the first decade of independence) were:

• 1 rupee = 16 Anna (later 100 naye paise)
• 1 artharupee = 8 Anna, or 1/2 rupee (later 50 naye paise)
• 1 pavala = 4 Anna, or 1/4 rupee (later 25 naye paise)
• 1 beda = 2 Anna, or 1/8 rupee (later equivalent to 12.5 naye paise)
• 1 anna = 1/16 rupee (later equivalent to 6.25 naye paise)
• 1 paraka = 1/2 Anna (later equivalent to 3.125 naye paise)
• 1 kani (pice) = 1/4 Anna (later equivalent to 1.5625 naye paise)
• 1 damidi (pie) = 1/12 Anna (later equivalent to 0.520833 naye paise)

In 1957, the rupee was decimalised and divided into 100 naye paise (Hindi for "new paise"); in 1964, the initial "naye" was dropped. Many still refer to 25, 50 and 75 paise as 4, 8 and 12 annas respectively, similar to the usage of "two bits" in American English for a quarter-dollar.

East African coast and South Arabia[link]

In East Africa, Arabia and Mesopotamia the rupee (and its subsidiary coinage) was used at various times. Usage of the rupee in East Africa extended from Somalia in the north to Natal in the south. In Mozambique the British India rupees were over-stamped, and in Kenya the British East Africa Company minted the rupee and its fractions. The rise in the price of silver immediately after the First World War caused the rupee to increase in value to two shillings sterling. In 1920 in British East Africa a florin coin was introduced, bringing the currency into line with sterling. Shortly after, the florin was divided into two East African shillings. However, this assimilation to sterling did not occur in British India itself. In Somalia the Italian colonial authority minted rupia to the same standard, calling the paisa besa.

Straits Settlements[link]

The Straits Settlements were originally an outlier of the British East India Company. The Spanish dollar had already taken hold in the Settlements by the time the British arrived during the 19th century; however, the East India Company tried to replace it with the rupee. This attempt was resisted by the locals; by 1867 (when the British government took over direct control of the Straits Settlements from the East India Company), attempts to introduce the rupee were finally abandoned.

International use[link]

With Partition the Pakistani rupee came into existence, initially using Indian coins and Indian currency notes simply overstamped with "Pakistan". Previously the Indian rupee was an official currency of other countries, including Aden, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States, Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, the Seychelles and Mauritius.

The Indian government introduced the Gulf rupee – also known as the Persian Gulf rupee (XPGR) – as a replacement for the Indian rupee for circulation outside the country with the Reserve Bank of India (Amendment) Act of 1 May 1959. The creation of a separate currency was an attempt to reduce the strain on India's foreign reserves from gold smuggling. After India devalued the rupee on 6 June 1966, those countries still using it – Oman, Qatar, and the Trucial States (which became the United Arab Emirates in 1971) – replaced the Gulf rupee with their own currencies. Kuwait and Bahrain had already done so in 1961 and 1965, respectively.

The Bhutanese ngultrum is pegged at par with the Indian rupee; both currencies are accepted in Bhutan. The Nepalese rupee is pegged at 0.625 Rs; the Indian rupee is accepted in Nepal, although 500- and 1000-rupee banknotes are banned.^[28] Sri Lanka's rupee is not related to India's currency; it is pegged to the US dollar.^[29]

Coins[link]

East India Company, 1835[link]

The three Presidencies established by the British East India Company (Bengal, Bombay and Madras) each issued their own coinages until 1835. All three issued rupees and fractions thereof down to ¹⁄₈- and ¹⁄₁₆-rupee in silver. Madras also issued two-rupee coins.

Copper denominations were more varied. Bengal issued one-pie, ¹⁄₂-, one- and two-paise coins. Bombay issued 1-pie, ¹⁄₄-, ¹⁄₂-, 1-, 1¹⁄₂-, 2- and 4-paise coins. In Madras there were copper coins for two and four pies and one, two and four paisa, with the first two denominated as ¹⁄₂ and one dub (or ¹⁄₉₆ and ¹⁄₄₈) rupee. Madras also issued the Madras fanam until 1815.

All three Presidencies issued gold mohurs and fractions of mohurs (including ¹⁄₁₆, ¹⁄₂, ¹⁄₄ in Bengal, ¹⁄₁₅ (a gold rupee) and ¹⁄₃ (pancia) in Bombay and ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₃ and ¹⁄₂ in Madras.

In 1835, a single coinage for the EIC was introduced. It consisted of copper ¹⁄₁₂, ¹⁄₄ and ¹⁄₂ anna, silver ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₃ and 1 rupee and gold 1 and 2 mohurs. In 1841, silver 2 annas were added, followed by copper ¹⁄₂ pice in 1853. The coinage of the EIC continued to be issued until 1862, even after the Company had been taken over by the Crown.

Regal issues, 1862–1947[link]

In 1862, coins were introduced (known as "regal issues") which bore the portrait of Queen Victoria and the designation "India". Their denominations were ¹⁄₁₂ anna, ¹⁄₂ pice, ¹⁄₄ and ¹⁄₂ anna (all in copper), 2 annas, ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₂ and one rupee (silver), and five and ten rupees and one mohur (gold). The gold denominations ceased production in 1891, and no ¹⁄₂-anna coins were issued after 1877.

In 1906, bronze replaced copper for the lowest three denominations; in 1907, a cupro-nickel one-anna coin was introduced. In 1918–1919 cupro-nickel two-, four- and eight-annas were introduced, although the four- and eight-annas coins were only issued until 1921 and did not replace their silver equivalents. In 1918, the Bombay mint also struck gold sovereigns and 15-rupee coins identical in size to the sovereigns as an emergency measure during to the First World War.

In the early 1940s, several changes were implemented. The ¹⁄₁₂ anna and ¹⁄₂ pice ceased production, the ¹⁄₄ anna was changed to a bronze, holed coin, cupro-nickel and nickel-brass ¹⁄₂-anna coins were introduced, nickel-brass was used to produce some one- and two-annas coins, and the silver composition was reduced from 91.7 to 50 percent. The last of the regal issues were cupro-nickel ¹⁄₄-, ¹⁄₂- and one-rupee pieces minted in 1946 and 1947.

[edit] Independent predecimal issues, 1950–1957

Indian one pice, minted in 1950

India's first coins after independence were issued in 1950 in 1 pice, ¹⁄₂, one and two annas, ¹⁄₄, ¹⁄₂ and one-rupee denominations. The sizes and composition were the same as the final regal issues, except for the one-pice (which was bronze, but not holed).

[edit] Independent decimal issues, 1957–

The first decimal-coin issues in India consisted of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 naye paise, and 1 rupee. The 1 naya paisa was bronze; the 2, 5 & 10 naye paise were cupro-nickel, and the 25 naye paise (nicknamed chavanni; 25 naye paise equals 4 annas), 50 naye paise (also called athanni; 50 naye paise equaled 8 old annas) and 1-rupee coins were nickel. In 1964, the word naya(e) was removed from all coins. Between 1964 and 1967, aluminum one-, two-, three-, five- and ten-paise coins were introduced. In 1968 nickel-brass 20-paise coins were introduced, and replaced by aluminum coins in 1982. Between 1972 and 1975, cupro-nickel replaced nickel in the 25- and 50-paise and the 1-rupee coins; in 1982, cupro-nickel two-rupee coins were introduced. In 1988 stainless steel 10-, 25- and 50-paise coins were introduced, followed by 1- and 5-rupee coins in 1992. Five-rupee coins, made from brass, are being minted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Between 2005 and 2008 new, lighter fifty-paise, one-, two- and five-rupee coins were introduced, made from ferritic stainless steel. The move was prompted by the melting-down of older coins, whose face value was less than their scrap value. The demonetization of the 25-(chavanni)paise coin and all paise coins below it took place, and a new series of coins (50 paise – nicknamed athanni – one, two, five and ten rupees, with the new rupee symbol) were put into circulation in 2011. Coins commonly in circulation are one, two, five and ten rupees.^{[7] [8]} Although it is still legal tender, the 50-paise (athanni) coin is rarely seen in circulation.^[30]

Circulating Coins ^[31][7]

Image		Value	Technical parameters				Description		Year of
Obverse	Reverse		Diameter	Mass	Composition	Shape	Obverse	Reverse	First minting	Last minting
		50 paise	19 mm	3.79 g	Ferritic stainless steel	Circular	Emblem of India	Value, the word "PAISE" in English and Hindi, floral motif and year of minting	2011
		50 paise	22 mm	3.79 g	Ferritic stainless steel	Circular	Emblem of India	Value, hand in a fist	2008
		1	25 mm	4.85 g	Ferritic stainless steel	Circular	Emblem of India, value	Value, two stalks of wheat	1992
		1	25 mm	4.85 g	Ferritic stainless steel	Circular	Emblem of India	Value, hand showing thumb	2007
		1	22 mm	4.85 g	Ferritic stainless steel	Circular	Emblem of India	Value, new rupee sign, floral motif and year of minting	2011
		2	26 mm	6 g	Cupro-Nickel	Eleven Sided	Emblem of India, Value	National integration	1982
		2	27 mm	5.62 g	Ferritic stainless steel	Circular	Emblem of India, year of minting	Value, hand showing two fingers	2007
		2	25 mm	5.62 g	Ferritic stainless steel	Circular	Emblem of India	Value, new rupee sign, floral motif and year of minting	2011
		5	23 mm	9 g	Cupro-Nickel	Circular	Emblem of India	Value	1992
		5	23 mm	6 g	Ferritic stainless steel	Circular	Emblem of India	Value, wavy lines	2007
		5	23 mm	6 g	Brass	Circular	Emblem of India	Value, wavy lines	2009
		5	23 mm	6 g	Nickel- Brass	Circular	Emblem of India	Value, new rupee sign, floral motif and year of minting	2011
		10	28 mm	8 g	Bimetallic	Circular	Emblem of India with value	Value, wavy lines	2006
		10	27 mm	5.62 g	Cupro-Nickel	Circular	Emblem of India and year of minting	Value with outward radiating pattern, new rupee sign	2011

The coins are minted at the four locations of the India Government Mint. The one-, two- and five-rupee coins have been minted since independence. Coins minted with the "hand picture" were minted from 2005 onwards.

Special coins[link]

After independence, the RBI minted coins imprinted with Indian statesmen, historical and religious figures.

Banknotes[link]

The design of banknotes is approved by the central government, on the recommendation of the central board of the Reserve Bank of India.^[1] Currency notes are printed at the Currency Note Press in Nashik, the Bank Note Press in Dewas, the Bharatiya Note Mudra Nigam (P) presses at Salboni and Mysore and at the Watermark Paper Manufacturing Mill in Hoshangabad.

The current series of banknotes (which began in 1996) is known as the Mahatma Gandhi series. Banknotes are issued in the denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000. The printing of 5 notes (which had stopped earlier) resumed in 2009. ATMs usually distribute 100, 500 and 1,000 notes. The zero rupee note is not an official government issue, but a symbol of protest; it is printed (and distributed) by an NGO in India.

British India[link]

British Indian ten-rupee note

In 1861, the government of India introduced its first paper money: 10-rupee notes in 1864, 5-rupee notes in 1872, 10,000-rupee notes in 1899, 100-rupee notes in 1900, 50-rupee notes in 1905, 500-rupee notes in 1907 and 1000-rupee notes in 1909. In 1917, 1- and 2¹⁄₂-rupee notes were introduced. The Reserve Bank of India began banknote production in 1938, issuing 2-, 5-, 10-, 50-, 100-, 1,000- and 10,000-rupee notes while the government continued issuing 1-rupee notes.

Independent issues since 1949[link]

After independence, new designs were introduced to replace the portrait of the king. The government continued issuing the 1-rupee note, while the Reserve Bank issued other denominations (including the 5,000- and 10,000-rupee notes introduced in 1949). During the 1970s, 20- and 50-rupee notes were introduced; denominations higher than 100 rupees were demonetized in 1978. In 1987 the 500-rupee note was introduced, followed by the 1,000-rupee note in 2000. One- and two-rupee notes were discontinued in 1995.

In September 2009, the Reserve Bank of India decided to introduce polymer banknotes on a trial basis. Initially, 100 crore (1 billion) pieces of polymer 10 notes will be introduced.^[32] According to Reserve Bank officials, the polymer notes will have an average lifespan of five years (four times that of paper banknotes) and will be difficult to counterfeit; they will also be cleaner than paper notes.

[edit] Current banknotes

File:1000 INR Obs LR.png

Mahatma Gandhi series 1000 banknote with the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi

The Mahatma Gandhi series of banknotes are issued by the Reserve Bank of India as legal tender. The series is so named because the obverse of each note features a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi. Since its introduction in 1996, this series has replaced all issued banknotes. The RBI introduced the series in 1996 with 10 and 500 banknotes. At present, the RBI issues banknotes in denominations from 5 to 1,000. The printing of 5 notes (which had stopped earlier) resumed in 2009.

As of January 2012, the new Indian rupee sign has been incorporated into banknotes in denominations of 10, 100, 500 and 1,000.^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

Languages[link]

Each banknote has its amount written in 15 languages. On the obverse, the denomination is written in English and Hindi. On the reverse is a language panel which displays the denomination of the note in 15 of the 22 official languages of India. The languages are displayed in alphabetical order. Languages included on the panel are Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Denominations in various languages

Language	1	2	5	10	20	50	100	500	1000
English	One Rupee	Two Rupees	Five Rupees	Ten Rupees	Twenty Rupees	Fifty Rupees	Hundred Rupees	Five Hundred Rupees	One Thousand Rupees
Gujarati	એક રૂપિયો	બે રૂપિયા	પાંચ રૂપિયા	દસ રૂપિયા	વીસ રૂપિયા	પચાસ રૂપિયા	સો રૂપિયા	પાંચ સો રૂપિયા	એક હજાર રૂપિયા
Hindi	एक रुपया	दो रुपये	पाँच रुपये	दस रुपये	बीस रुपये	पचास रुपये	एक सौ रुपये	पांच सौ रुपये	एक हज़ार रुपये
Nepali	एक रुपियाँ	दुई रुपियाँ	पाँच रुपियाँ	दश रुपियाँ	बीस रुपियाँ	पचास रुपियाँ	एक सय रुपियाँ	पाँच सय रुपियाँ	एक हज़ार रुपियाँ
Kannada	ಒಂದು ರುಪಾಯಿ	ಎರಡು ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳು	ಐದು ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳು	ಹತ್ತು ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳು	ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತು ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳು	ಐವತ್ತು ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳು	ನೂರು ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳು	ಐನೂರು ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳು	ಒಂದು ಸಾವಿರ ರೂಪಾಯಿಗಳು
Konkani	एक रुपया	दोन रुपया	पांच रुपया	धा रुपया	वीस रुपया	पन्नास रुपया	शंभर रुपया	पाचशें रुपया	एक हज़ार रुपया
Malayalam	ഒരു രൂപ	രണ്ടു രൂപ	അഞ്ചു രൂപ	പത്തു രുപ	ഇരുപതു രൂപ	അൻപതു രൂപ	നൂറു രൂപ	അഞ്ഞൂറു രൂപ	ആയിരം രൂപ
Marathi	एक रुपया	दोन रुपये	पाच रुपये	दहा रुपये	वीस रुपये	पन्नास रुपये	शंभर रुपये	पाचशे रुपये	एक हजार रुपये
Assamese	এক টকা	দুই টকা	পাঁচ টকা	দহ টকা	বিছ টকা	পঞ্চাশ টকা	এশ টকা	পাঁচশ টকা	এক হাজাৰ টকা
Sanskrit	एकरूप्यकम्	द्वे रूप्यके	पञ्चरूप्यकाणि	दशरूप्यकाणि	विंशती रूप्यकाणि	पञ्चाशत रूप्यकाणि	शतं रूप्यकाणि	पञ्चशतं रूप्यकाणि	सहस्र रूप्यकाणि
Bengali	এক টাকা	দুই টাকা	পাঁচ টাকা	দশ টাকা	কুড়ি টাকা	পঞ্চাশ টাকা	শত টাকা	পাঁচশত টাকা	এক হাজার টাকা
Tamil	ஒரு ரூபாய்	இரண்டு ரூபாய்	ஐந்து ரூபாய்	பத்து ரூபாய்	இருபது ரூபாய்	ஐம்பது ரூபாய்	நூறு ரூபாய்	ஐந்நூறு ரூபாய்	ஆயிரம் ரூபாய்
Telugu	ఒక రూపాయి	రెండు రూపాయిలు	ఐదు రూపాయిలు	పది రూపాయిలు	ఇరవై రూపాయిలు	యాభై రూపాయిలు	వంద రూపాయిలు	ఐదువందల రూపాయిలు	వెయ్యి రూపాయిలు
Punjabi	ਏਕ ਰੁਪਏ	ਦੋ ਰੁਪਏ	ਪਾਨ੍ਜ ਰੁਪਏ	ਦਸ ਰੁਪਏ	ਵੀਹ ਰੁਪਏ	ਪਨ੍ਜਾ ਰੁਪਏ	ਇਕ ਸੋ ਰੁਪਏ	ਪਾਨ੍ਜ ਸੋ ਰੁਪਏ	ਇਕ ਹਜਾਰ ਰੁਪਏ
Urdu	ایک روپیہ	دو روپے	پانچ روپے	دس روپے	بیس روپے	پچاس روپے	ایک سو روپے	پانچ سو روپے	ایک ہزار روپے
Oriya	ଏକ ଟଙ୍କ	୨ ଟଙ୍କ	୫ ଟଙ୍କ	୧୦ ଟଙ୍କ	୨୦ ଟଙ୍କ	୫୦ ଟଙ୍କ	୧୦୦ ଟଙ୍କ	୫୦୦ ଟଙ୍କ	୧୦୦୦ ଟଙ୍କ

Security features[link]

The main security features of current banknotes are:

• 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) of Bharat in Hindi and "RBI" in English.
• Latent image - On notes of denominations of 20 and upwards, a vertical band on the right side of the Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait contains a latent image showing the respective denominational value numerally (visible only when the note is held horizontally at eye level).
• Microlettering - Numeral denominational value is visible under magnifying glass between security thread and latent image.
• Intaglio - On notes with denominations of 10 and upwards the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, the Reserve Bank seal, guarantee and promise clause, Ashoka Pillar Emblem on the left and the RBI Governor's signature are printed in intaglio (raised print).
• Identification mark - On the left of the watermark window, different shapes are printed for various denominations (20: vertical rectangle, 50: square, 100: triangle, 500: circle, 1,000: diamond). This also helps the visually-impaired to identify the denomination.
• Fluorescence - Number panels glow under ultraviolet light.
• Optically-variable ink - Notes of 500 and 1,000 denominations have their numerals printed in optically-variable ink. The number appears green when the note is held flat, but changes to blue when viewed at an angle.
• See-through register - Floral designs printed on the front and the back of the note coincide and perfectly overlap each other when viewed against light.
• EURion constellation - A pattern of symbols found on the banknote helps software detect the presence of a banknote in a digital image, preventing its reproduction with devices such as color photocopiers.

Convertibility[link]

Most traded currencies by value
Currency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover^[33]

Rank	Currency	ISO 4217 code (Symbol)	% daily share (April 2010)
1	United States dollar	USD ($)	84.9%
2	Euro	EUR (€)	39.1%
3	Japanese yen	JPY (¥)	19.0%
4	Pound sterling	GBP (£)	12.9%
5	Australian dollar	AUD ($)	7.6%
6	Swiss franc	CHF (Fr)	6.4%
7	Canadian dollar	CAD ($)	5.3%
8	Hong Kong dollar	HKD ($)	2.4%
9	Swedish krona	SEK (kr)	2.2%
10	New Zealand dollar	NZD ($)	1.6%
11	South Korean won	KRW (₩)	1.5%
12	Singapore dollar	SGD ($)	1.4%
13	Norwegian krone	NOK (kr)	1.3%
14	Mexican peso	MXN ($)	1.3%
15	Indian rupee	INR ()	0.9%
Other			12.2%
Total[34]			200%

Officially, the Indian rupee has a market-determined exchange rate. However, the RBI trades actively in the USD/INR currency market to impact effective exchange rates. Thus, the currency regime in place for the Indian rupee with respect to the US dollar is a de facto controlled exchange rate. This is sometimes called a "managed float". Other rates (such as the EUR/INR and INR/JPY) have the volatility typical of floating exchange rates.^[35] Unlike China, successive administrations (through RBI, the central bank) have not followed a policy of pegging the INR to a specific foreign currency at a particular exchange rate. RBI intervention in currency markets is solely to ensure low volatility in exchange rates, and not to influence the rate (or direction) of the Indian rupee in relation to other currencies.^[36]

Also affecting convertibility is a series of customs regulations restricting the import and export of rupees. Legally, foreign nationals are forbidden from importing or exporting rupees; Indian nationals can import and export only up to 7,500 rupees at a time, and the possession of 500- and 1,000-rupee notes in Nepal is prohibited.

RBI also exercises a system of capital controls in addition to intervention (through active trading) in currency markets. On the current account, there are no currency-conversion restrictions hindering buying or selling foreign exchange (although trade barriers exist). On the capital account, foreign institutional investors have convertibility to bring money into and out of the country and buy securities (subject to quantitative restrictions). Local firms are able to take capital out of the country in order to expand globally. However, local households are restricted in their ability to diversify globally. Because of the expansion of the current and capital accounts, India is increasingly moving towards full de facto convertibility.

There is some confusion regarding the interchange of the currency with gold, but the system that India follows is that money cannot be exchanged for gold under any circumstances due to gold's lack of liquidity;^{[citation needed]} therefore, money cannot be changed into gold by the RBI. India follows the same principle as Great Britain and the U.S.

Chronology[link]

• 1991 - India began to lift restrictions on its currency. A number of reforms remove restrictions on current account transactions (including trade, interest payments and remittances and some capital asset-based transactions). Liberalized Exchange Rate Management System (LERMS) (a dual-exchange-rate system) introduced partial convertibility of the rupee in March 1992.^[37]
• 1997 - A panel (set up to explore capital account convertibility) recommended that India move towards full convertibility by 2000, but the timetable was abandoned in the wake of the 1997–1998 East Asian financial crisis.
• 2006 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked the Finance Minister and the Reserve Bank of India to prepare a road map for moving towards capital account convertibility.^[38]

Exchange rates[link]

[edit] Historic exchange rates

Current exchange rates[link]

See also[link]

• History of the rupee
• Coins of British India

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Indian rupee

	India portal
	Numismatics portal

• Problem of the Rupee . History of the Rupee to 1923 AD
• Images of historic and modern Indian coins
• Rupee Font
• Rupee Font1
• Security Features of one Thousand Rupees Note

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Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam at the premiere of Raavan in 2010
Born	Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (1956-06-02) 2 June 1956 (age 56) Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India[1][2]
Residence	Alwarpet, Chennai, India
Occupation	Film director Film producer Screenwriter
Years active	1983–present
Spouse	Suhasini (1988–present)

Mani Ratnam (born Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam on 2 June 1956) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, predominantly working in Tamil cinema, based in Chennai, India. Born into a Tamil Brahmin family in Madurai, Ratnam worked as a management consultant before entering into the film industry. He made his directorial debut with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi in 1983, and followed this with the Malayalam film Unaru (1984) and the Tamil film Pagal Nilavu (1985). Ratnam came into prominence after Mouna Ragam (1986), a film about the friction between a newly–wed couple. He made his Telugu debut with the National Film Award winning Geethanjali (1989), which was critically acclaimed and a major commercial success. Ratnam is also known for his "Terrorism trilogy" consisting of Roja (1992), Bombay (1995) and Dil Se.. (1998). He is widely regarded as one of the leading directors in Indian cinema.^[3] Ratnam is widely credited with having revolutionised the Tamil film industry and altering the profile of Indian cinema.^[4]

Ratnam's Nayagan (1987) and Anjali (1990) were submitted by India for the Academy Award consideration in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.^[5] His Tamil film Nayagan along with Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) and Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957) are the only Indian films to have appeared in Time magazine's All-Time 100 Greatest Movies.^[6]

Ratnam is married to actress Suhasini. In 2002 he was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award given by the Government of India. Ratnam has won several film awards, including six National Film Awards. In addition to these, he is a recipient of a number of awards at various International film festivals. He has also been instrumental in organizing Netru, Indru, Naalai, a stage musical which has helped mentally affected women and children.

Early life and background[link]

Mani Ratnam with his wife Suhasini.

Mani Ratnam was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.^[2][7] His birth name is Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam.^[8] His father, Ratnam Iyer, was a film producer who worked under the banner of production company, Venus Pictures.^[9] Ratnam grew up in Chennai,^[10] doing his schooling there completed his graduation with a degree in commerce from Madras University, Chennai^[11] and then obtained an MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies,^[12] after which he worked as a management consultant before becoming a filmmaker.^[4]

Ratnam had two brothers—G. Venkateswaran and G. Srinivasan—both of them film producers. The former was a prominent personality who produced many of Ratnam's films, including Mouna Ragam, Nayagan, Agni Natchathiram, Thalapathi, and Anjali,^[4] later committed suicide in 2003, reportedly because of financial problems.^[13][9] His younger brother, G. Srinivasan died in an accident while trekking in Manali on 27 May 2007.^[14] In 1988 Ratnam married Suhasini, the niece of Kamal Haasan and daughter of Charuhasan.^[15][16] Suhasini is a National Award-winning actress and a well-known filmmaker as well.^[16] They have a son named Nandhan.^[17] Charuhasan, his father-in-law,^[18] is a National Award-winning actor.^[19] Ratnam lives in Alwarpet, Chennai, where he runs Madras Talkies, his production company.^[20][21]

Career[link]

Early years: 1983–85[link]

Unlike many film-makers, Ratnam neither assisted in film-making nor worked as a cinematographer before making a name for himself in the industry.^[22] He made his directorial debut in 1983 with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi, which starred Anil Kapoor and Lakshmi.^[23] The film explored the relationship between a young man and an older woman. Ratnam persuaded acclaimed director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra to serve as his cinematographer.^[23] Ratnam's screenplay won a Karnataka State Film Award for Best Screenplay.^[24] His second film was a Malayalam production titled Unaru. It explored the trade union problems in Kerala.^[25] His next film, Pagal Nilavu starring Murali and Revathi, marked his directional debut in Tamil cinema.^[26] The same year, he directed Idaya Kovil, a romantic drama which proved to be a major box-office success.^[24]

Breakthrough: 1986–1991[link]

In 1986, Ratnam directed the Tamil romantic drama Mouna Ragam, which starred Revathi and Mohan. The film was critically acclaimed for portraying urban Tamils in a "realistic" manner.^[27] Specifically, it told the story of the friction between a newlywed couple.^[24] Its score by Ilaiyaraaja was highly appreciated and became popular upon release.^[28] Mouna Raagam was subsequently dubbed into Telugu under the same title and became a hit in Andhra Pradesh.^[29] The film elevated Ratnam's status as a director and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 34th National Film Awards. Ratnam won his first Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director for the film.^[30][24]

In 1987, Ratnam directed Nayagan starring Kamal Haasan, and the film became a huge success and brought him recognition at the national level.^[27][31] Inspired by the 1972 American epic crime film, The Godfather,^[32][4] the film was based on the real-life story of underworld king Varadarajan Mudaliar,^[33][27] and tells the story of an orphaned slum-dweller and his rise to top of the Mumbai underworld hierarchy,^[28] was included in Time magazine's All-Time 100 Greatest Movies in 2005.^[6] Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy and Guru Dutt's Pyaasa are the only other Indian films that have appeared in the list.^[34] Indian critics dubbed the film as India's answer to The Godfather.^[35][36][37] Nayagan was both commercially successful and critically acclaimed winning three National Awards—Best Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction—at the 35th National Film Awards.^[31][28] The film was India's official entry to the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film at the 60th Academy Awards.^[38]

Following these two commercial successes, Ratnam wrote and directed Agni Natchathiram in 1988.^[39] The film deals with the story of step-brothers played by Prabhu and Karthik^[28] and is notable for its use of new techniques in camera framework, especially during the songs.^[40] The film had a successful run in the box office.^[4][39]

In 1989 Ratnam opted to make his next project, Geethanjali, his maiden venture in Telugu.^[31] Starring Nagarjuna in the lead role, the film told the story of an ill-fated couple, both of whom are suffering from terminal diseases.^[4] Geethanjali was critically acclaimed and won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in 1990 and fetched the Nandi Award for Best Story Writer for Ratnam.^[41] Ratnam maintained a momentum of making emotional stories of under-served people through the film Anjali in 1990, which starred Raghuvaran and told the story of an autistic child who changed the lives of people around her.^[42] The film proved to be a commercial success and was nominated as India's official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 63rd Academy Awards.^[42][43] Following Anjali's release, Ratnam later made another underworld-themed Tamil film, Thalapathi (1991), starring Rajinikanth and Mammootty.^[44] The film was an adaptation of Mahabharata, dealt with the friendship between Karna and Duryodhana portrayed by Rajinikanth and Mammmooty respectively.^[45] The film met with both critical acclaim and commercial success upon release.^[46] Ilaiyaraaja's musical score and Ratnam's work were highly appreciated as they both went on to win the Music Director and Best Director awards respectively at the 39th Filmfare Awards.^[47]

International acclaim: 1992–99[link]

With Thalapathi, Mani Ratnam ended his long-term association with music director Ilaiyaraaja, bringing in debutant music director A. R. Rahman to score his Tamil classic Roja (1992). The venture was successful, earning Ratnam various awards. Roja, a romantic film, was about terrorism in the Kashmir region.^[4] Starring Arvind Swamy and Madhoo, it was nominated for the Golden St. George Award at the Moscow International Film Festival.^[48] It became highly popular, gaining an iconic status in Indian cinema and was dubbed into other languages and met similar success in other regions.^[49] Ratnam took a more light-hearted approach with his next film —Thiruda Thiruda (1993). Scripted by Ram Gopal Varma,^[50] it explored the action and thriller genres,^[51] was a departure from Ratnam's previous style, did not fare well at the box office. A retrospective of his Tamil films was held at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1994.^[2]

Ratnam again teamed up with Ram Gopal Varma to provide the screenplay for the latter's Telugu film Gaayam, a socio-politico film loosely based on The Godfather.^[52] In 1995, Ratnam returned to Tamil language drama through Bombay starring Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala, which told the story of a Hindu-Muslim couple in the midst of the 1993 religious Bombay riots and bombings. It was also the first Indian film to focus on marriage between Hindu and Muslim people.^[53] The film met with controversy and censorship upon release,^[53] was subsequently dubbed into Hindi and was commercially and successful and appreciated by critics.^[31] It won a number of awards, such as Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration, Special Award from the Political Film Society,^[54] In the Spirit of Freedom Award at the Jerusalem International Film Festival^[55] and the Gala Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.^[56]

Ratnam produced his wife's directorial debut film, Indira,^[57] and the critical success Iruvar, his next film as director. Iruvar was honoured the Best Film at the "Festival of the Auteur Films" at the FEST film festival held in Belgrade.^[58] In 1998 came the third part of his "terrorism trilogy", named Dil Se.. and starring Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala, with the latter fabricating the second collaboration.^[59] It showed the relationship between a young man and a dangerous, disturbed woman. Although they fall in love, she is unable to take the romance further due to her bleak past. The soundtrack album, again composed by A. R. Rahman, gained mass appeal and gave Rahman his next Filmfare Award for Best Music Direction in 1999.^[60][61] Unlike his previous two projects, Dil Se.. opened with well note among the film critics and the film poorly performed in the domestic market,^[62] despite being a success overseas.^[63][64][65] It was screened in many international film festivals, and won the Netpac award (Ex-Aqueo) in the Berlin International Film Festival.^[66] In 2000, Ratnam directed the romantic drama Alaipayuthey that starred R. Madhavan and Shalini. The film focussed on marriage and explored relationships and their consequences, and garnered critical recognition.^[67][68] It was also screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.^[69]

Along with Vasanth, he was instrumental in organising Netru, Indru, Naalai,^[70] a stage musical that marked the first theatre production, with numerous other artistes, to aid The Banyan, an organization that rehabilitates women and children with mental illness.^[71][72]

[edit] Kannathil Muthamittal and onwards: 2002–present

Ratnam's following project, Kannathil Muthamittal, dealt with the story of a child of Sri Lankan Tamil parentage adopted by Indian parents, who wishes to meet her biological mother during the Sri Lankan Civil War.^[73] The film was critically lauded and commercially successful, winning six National Film Awards, Filmfare Award for Best Direction in Tamil, In the Spirit of Freedom Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival^[74] and an award at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.^[75] In 2004, he made a Hindi film titled Yuva, his second venture into Bollywood. The film, which tells the story of how one incident sends the lives of three youths on a collision course, received positive reviews and was a hit in the box office.^[76] Ratnam made the film simultaneously in Tamil as Aaytha Ezhuthu, starring Surya Sivakumar, R. Madhavan and Siddharth replacing Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi respectively from the Hindi version.^[76] The Tamil version was appreciated by critics, unlike the Hindi version, which was a failure at the box office. Ratnam suffered his first heart attack while shooting for Yuva.^[59]

In 2007, Ratnam made Guru, a biographical film based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, a business magnate from India.^[77] starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, through his production house, Madras Talkies.^[78] The film is set in the early 1950s, became a box office success, and received critical acclaim.^[79]

In 2010, Ratnam worked on a bilingual film, titled Raavanan in Tamil and Raavan in Hindi.^[80] The Tamil version was dubbed into Telugu and titled Villain. The film was released worldwide on 18 June 2010.^[81] The film is loosely based on the Hindu epic Ramayana; its narrative occurs over 14 days when a revolutionist named Beera, who lives in a forest, kidnaps a policeman's wife to avenge his sister's death. The Tamil version received positive reviews from the critics compared to its other versions.^[82] The New York Times called the movie a "critics' pick". However, the reviewers of the Hindi version panned the film; Rajeev Masand said it was "a crushing bore of a film, a disappointment on virtually every count"^[83] while another critic, Raja Sen commented "It's profoundly sad to see a filmmaker of Ratnam's calibre reduced to this".^[84] The Tamil version was declared a box office success.^[85] Ratnam's forthcoming film, Kadal, earlier titled Pookadai, is said to be set against the backdrop of fishermen in and around Rameswaram.^[86] It will signify the acting debut of Gautham, son of veteran actor Karthik.^[87]

Legacy[link]

Ratnam is highly credited for having revolutionized the Tamil film industry and altering the profile of Indian cinema.^[4] He has made films with a variety of genres and majority of his films are characterized by string Socio-political themes.^[88] It was mainly because of this most of his films have garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success.^[88]

With his idea of combining art and commercial elements, Ratnam was referred for bringing new dimension to the South Asian film industry.^[88] Many of his films have taken inspirations from real-life incidents such as Nayagan, Bombay, Iruvar and films like Thalapathi and Raavan were based on Indian epics.^[2] He is lauded for his casting in each of his films—he said in an interview, "I am not a director who performs and shows. I discuss the role, the scene with my actors and let them bring life to it".^[2]

Ratnam is also well recognized outside India with a retrospective of his films held at various film festivals around the world such as Toronto International Film Festival, Pusan International Film Festival, Tokyo Filmex and Birmingham International Film Festival.^[58] His films are being screened regularly at many film festivals such as Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, Montreal Film Festival and Palm Springs International Film Festival.^[58]

Ratnam's aspiration towards films grew up watching films of K. Balachander, Guru Dutt and Sivaji Ganesan.^[89] His is greatly influenced by the film-making styles of Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Krzysztof Kieślowski and Ingmar Bergman.^[89]

Awards and honors[link]

The Government of India honoured Ratnam with Padma Shri in 2002.^[90] He has won several National Film Awards, Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Awards South and state awards. Apart from these awards, many of his films have been screened at various film festivals and have won numerous accolades. Geethanjali, directed by him won the Golden Lotus Award for Best Popular Film at the 37th National Film Awards. Other films like Mouna Ragam, Anjali, and Kannathil Muthamittal have won the Best Regional Film awards at the National Film Awards. Two of his films, Roja and Bombay have won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. The former was also nominated for Best Film category at the Moscow International Film Festival.^[91] In 2010, Ratnam was honoured with Jaeger-Lecoultre Glory to the Filmmaker at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.^[27][92]

Filmography[link]

The following is the list of films directed by Mani Ratnam. Many have been remade or dubbed in several languages, mostly in Telugu and Hindi.

See also[link]

• List of films directed by Mani Ratnam featuring A. R. Rahman

Notes[link]