In March 2025, the Tamil Nadu government—headed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin—swapped the official Indian rupee symbol (₹)..
it derived from the Devanagari script, with the Tamil letter ‘ரூ’ (pronounced ‘Ru’) in the state budget logo for the financial year 2025-26..
The action was perceived as an affirmation of regional and linguistic identity. The budget logo showed ‘ru’, the initial letter of the Tamil term ‘rubaai’, which is the Tamil for rupee.
Tamil Nadu’s government has traditionally resisted the “imposition of Hindi ” contending that central policies (such as the National Education Policy) undermine regional languages and culture.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said, “This year we have given importance to Tamil over the Devanagari script ” with the slogan ‘Ellorkkum Ellaam’ (“Everything for Everyone”).
Political Reaction and Controversy “
including BJP and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman – attacked the move as “language and regional chauvinism” and cautioned it will undermine national unity.
BJP leaders pointed out that the official rupee symbol was originally conceived by a Tamilian professor, D. Udaya Kumar, mixing Indian (Devanagari) and Roman scripts.
The DMK government justified their position, saying there’s “nothing wrong” in giving Tamil and regional linguistic pride prominence on state documents.
Symbol Details:
Old Symbol: ₹ (combines Devanagari ‘र’ and Roman ‘R’; adopted nationwide in 2010)
New Symbol : (Tamil Nadu Budget): ‘ரூ’ (Tamil script; first letter of ‘rubaai’)
Prelims Facts :
Marks the first time an Indian state has rejected the national currency symbol in government documents.
The change is framed as part of a broader push for the recognition and preservation of Tamil language and culture in the face of national education and language policies. visit here
” The Government of Tamil Nadu employed the local language letter ‘ரூ’ instead of the national rupee symbol (₹) in its 2025-26 budget documents, highlighting pride in local language and triggering political discussion around linguistic identity and national integration ” for more state news link yourself here www.eminentnews.com
