Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has dropped the Indian rupee symbol (₹) from the state budget 2025-26, and replaced it with Tamil letter ‘Ru’ from ‘Rubai’, which means Rupees in Tamil. The decision to change the rupee symbol is in the light of the ongoing conflict between the ruling DMK party and the Centre.
The DMK has opposed the three-language policy in the new National Education Policy, which they see as forcing the use of Hindi.
This move is being viewed as a strong statement of pride in the Tamil language, especially with the current debates about the imposition of Hindi and the protection of cultural independence.
Stalin took to X and shared the logo of the state budget which did not have the official Indian rupee sign. Along with the logo, he said that the decision was taken to ensure development in Tamil Nadu and “benefit all sections of society”.
In the last two budgets, the state used the rupee symbol in its logos. However, this time, the budget logo included hashtags like ‘Dravidian Model’ and ‘TNBudget2025,’ but the official rupee symbol, which is based on the Hindi letter ‘R,’ was missing.
This is the first time a state has rejected the national currency symbol. The decision comes as the Tamil Nadu government opposes the National Education Policy (NEP) and the three-language formula.