Computers should have Re symbol: Montek

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday the rupee symbol approved by the Cabinet needs to be incorporated into typewriters and computer keyboards to enable its better day-to-day usage.

"It's quite a nice symbol. This thing (the rupee symbol) has to be brought into current usage. The most important thing is to make sure that in typewriters the symbol is somewhere there," he said in New Delhi after a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Ahluwalia said changes should be made in both hardware and software systems of computers 'so that when I want the symbol in, it should be there'.

The rupee will soon join the elite currencies like the US dollar, the euro, British pound and Japanese yen in having a distinct identity.

The unique symbol -- a blend of the Devanagri 'Ra' and Roman 'R' -- is designed by Bombay IIT post-graduate D Udaya Kumar, was approved by the Cabinet on Thursday.

Image: Montek Singh Ahluwalia