The Indian Rupee is the official currency of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. The most commonly used symbol for the Rupee is Rs. The ISO 4217 code for the India Rupee is INR.

The Rupee is called by various names in the different parts of India depending on the local language, including Taka, Tanka, Rubai and Rupaye.

Overview

It is subdivided into 100 paise (singular paisa). During colonial times, 25 and 50 paise coins were commonly referred to as 4 annas (singular anna) and 8 annas respectively.

History

Historically, the Rupee, a word which means 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 vast quantities of silver in the U.S. and various European colonies resulted in a decline in the relative value of silver to gold. Suddenly the standard currency of India could not buy as much from the outside world. This event was known as "the fall of the Rupee."

During British rule, and the first decade of independence, it was subdivided into 16 Annas. Each Anna was subdivided into either 4 paise, or 12 pies. When Partition happened, the Pakistani Rupee came into existence, initially using Indian coins, and Indian currency notes simply overstamped with Pakistan.

In 1957, decimalization occurred and the rupee was now divided into 100 naye paise (Hindi for new paisas). After a few years, the initial "Naye" was dropped.

In previous times, the Indian Rupee was the official currency of other countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States (now the UAE), and Malaysia. The Indian Rupee is also linked with the Bhutanese Ngultrum.

As of 1 February 2005, the exchange rate of the rupee is 56.89 per euro, and 43.60 per US dollar.

Coins and Banknotes

The coins in circulation are 25 paise, 50 paise, Rs. 1, Rs. 2 and Rs. 5.

The currency notes in circulation are Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000.

External Links

• Problem of the Rupee Book by B. R. Ambedkar. History of the Rupee till 1923 A.D.
• Reserve Bank of India