Friday release for currency with new sign

A year after its invention, the rupee symbol is all set to enter the mint and leave its stamp on currency.

On Friday, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will launch a new set of coins and Rs 10 notes bearing the unique brand identity. The coins will be in denominations of 50 paisa, Rs 1, Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 10.

They will flash either gold or silver colours. The Rs 10 coin will be a mix of both.

The Reserve Bank will release 80 million such coins in the market every month. "The bulk of these will be 50 paisa and Rs 10 coins," Bimal Julka, director general (currency) of the finance ministry, told HT. "Our initial target is to release 6 billion new coins of different denominations."

With this, India will become the second country after England to have its currency symbol printed on its notes.

The Indian rupee mark is a blend of the Devanagri 'Ra' and Roman 'R'.

Up next: polymer notes. The RBI will soon start a trial run of these notes that can withstand rough handling and will tackle the problem of soiled and torn currency.

Mukherjee had promised to launch the new series of coins in his budget speech in February.

"The Indian rupee now has a new symbol, which has been notified for use by the central and state governments, business entities and the general public. A new series of coins carrying this symbol will be issued shortly," he had said.