The symbol of the Indian rupee (₹) was introduced on 15 July 2010. Who designed it? Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam, who is now an associate professor and head in the Department of Design, IIT Guwahati. The symbol is an amalgamation of the Devanagri ‘Ra’ and the Roman ‘R’. The horizontal top line is called shiro rekha in Devanagari script and gives the symbol a uniquely Indian twist. The two horizontal lines and the space in between is meant to represent the Indian tricolour. They also resemble the arithmetic sign ‘equal to’. The design philosophy here: the equal sign would signify a balanced economy.