Indian Rupee

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

The Indian Rupee is India's national currency, subdivided into 100 paise (singular paisa). In the Bengali and Assamese languages, spoken in the states of West Bengal,Tripura, and Assam, the Rupee is also known as a Taka, much like the word 'buck' (pl. 'bucks') in English is used to refer to the dollar.

Current exchange rate(as of oct 08, 2004) is RS 45.760 per 1 USD.

During British rule, and the first decade of independence, it was subdivided into 16 Annas. Each Anna was subdivided into either 4 paise, or 12 pies. When Partition happened, the Pakistani Rupee came into existence, initially using Indian coins, and Indian currency notes simply overstamped with Pakistan.

In 1957, decimalization occurred and the rupee was now divided into 100 naye paise (Hindi for new paisas). After a few years, the initial "Naye" was dropped.

In previous times, the Indian Rupee was the official currency of other countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States (now the UAE), and Malaysia. The Indian Rupee is also linked with the Bhutanese Ngultrum.

Indian 100 Rupee banknote, Indian 20 Rupee banknote, 1 Rupee coin, 2 Rupee coin

fr:roupie