The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin has dropped the Indian Rupee Symbol (₹) from the state Budget for the year2025-26, and it has been replaced with the Tamil letter ‘Ru’ from ‘Rubai’, which translates to Rupees in Tamil.
This decision has been made in light of the ongoing conflict between the Centre and the ruling party of the state, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
The DMK has decided to oppose the three-language policy which is a part of the New Education Policy, as the party views it as forced use of Hindi.
This move is also being viewed as a strong statement of pride in the Tamil language, especially as debates about the imposition of Hindi and the protection of cultural independence are in ubiquity currently.
In a post on X, Stalin has shared a logo of the state budget, minus the official Indian Rupee sign.
According to the Chief Minister, the decision was taken to ensure development in Tamil Nadu and “benefit all sections of society”.
While the state had used the official Indian Rupee symbol in the last two budgets, this time the budget logo included hashtags like ‘Dravidian Model’ and ‘TNBudget2025.’
However, the official Indian Rupee symbol was missing.
This is a unique move as it is the first time that any state has outrightly rejected the national currency symbol.
The decision comes on the back of the Tamil Nadu government opposing the National Education Policy (NEP) and its three-language formula.
