MANAGING RUPEE’S NEW AVATAR - A REVIEW
(A thought to create awareness among Management Professionals)
Ms. Khushbu Pandya
Lecturer, Deptt. Of Management, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth
India, as always has added one more page to its history. It is a step towards re-engineering many processes which underlines huge challenges to be faced by Indian government. As we know, a symbol is something such as object, picture, written word, soung or particular mark that represents something else by association resemblance, or convention. The Indian government had stated some important criteria for the design of new rupee symbol to the designers. A symbol should represent the historical and cultural ethos of the country as it is widely accepted across the country. The symbol should be in the Indian national language script or a visual representation. The symbol should be applicable to standard keyboard.
Indian rupee has a wide circulation around the world. Every country represents their currency with a certain specific symbol. Major world currencies like $- US Dollar, £ - British Pound Sterling, € - Euro, ¥ - Yen has a symbolic identification. Then why not India? Reserve bank of India’s Executive Director HR Khan feels that symbol for the rupee was absolutely necessary. He stated- “Every currency has a symbol so we thought that the Indian currency should also have a symbol. It is more of a symbolic value because we are an emerging power and most countries have some symbol which acts as an identification for the currency worldwide”.
It is going to be a thrilling way ahead for the government to launch the new symbol at an international platform. As it may seem an exciting thing to normal people but the job has a serious series of processes involved in making a successful launch worldwide and with greater acceptability and popular place on computer keyboards.
In recent past we saw the Euro, making its place in currency symbol league. It had gone through, undeniably a very long and complicated process. Russia is still striving hard for a currency symbol to represent Ruble, yet unsuccessful since 1990s. Thus, it is a success on the p art of India to come out with this initiative being a developing country. India is a growing powerhouse and giving tough competition to other nations.
Currency symbol is used in almost all sorts of ways. Sometimes it represents something more than only being a currency symbol. The use varies from representing it as a symbol for writing beside currency amounts to decorating it by printing on T-shirts. Currency symbol also presents an emotional attachment to its own countrymen. It symbolizes the sense of pride equality, status, cultural ethos and values.
Jasmine Montgomery, of design consultancy Future Brand, London, is in view that Delhi’s move shows it has realized the importance of country branding. But she warns that it can be a tricky t6hing to manage. In her view if the Indian government is looking for something that symbolizes its culture, it must eqally bear in mind its business audience. When one looks at a symbol from a business point of view, different things come into play. Monetary policy and the stability of the currency is very important. The currency symbol could be a powerful part of the country’s brand iconography, a signal of stability and the fact that it is a player on the world stage. However, while devising an international currency symbol is a “brilliant idea”, the competition has been set up in the wrong way. The idea that the symbol should have some cultural significance is a difficult one. The dollar, for example, doesn’t signify liberty and freedom- there is nothing recognizably American about it.
Designing a symbol incorporates reducing a complex idea to its visual essence. Even after a final idea emerges, rigorous testing of symbol is highly important. Testing its viability begins yet another found of exploration. It is an enormous responsibility to design a currency symbol. The government has to deal it very carefully while testing its technical applications like its presence on computer keyboard, mobile phones, web, currency notes and coins, etc. a series of complicated processes exists to commercialize after testing the symbol. Millions and billions of processes are to be incorporated like creating a new space for the new character in computers, laptops and mobile phones, computer short-cuts for typing the character, updating operating systems, font sets, etc. the character needs to be stored in the standard coding systems like ASCII or Unicode, so when fed into the computer it appears easily on its screen. It is a symbol for prestige of our nation and hence it should be dealt with immense amount of seriousness and responsibility. Hence government has set some strict and important criteria for creating its design. The cabinet has short listed 5 designs (shown below).
IDBI Director, K. Narasimha Murthy sees certain basis challenges that the government will have the face and deal strategically. The Reserve Bank of India and the foreign agencies involved in the printing of the currency will have to make changes in their printing set-up. There has to be a massive campaign to inform people that both the new currency and the old currency continue to be the legal tender. The search for a symbol for the currency comes after the Reserve Bank of India recently published a study looking into the potential fo the rupee to be used in international trade and even as a possible reserve global currency, given the problems confronting the US economy and the dollar. The study concluded that India needs to take steps to increase the role of the Indian rupee in the region to catch up with the growing influence of the Chinese Renminbi.
It could also open a new market for keyboards and printers with the latest symbol incorporated. The phase out period for ‘Rs’ to the new symbol will also bring in some fresh orders for IT equipment in banks to stock brokerages to insurance companies, hardware vendors expect. The country’s largest PC makers, HP and HCL are already making plans to introduce new equipment.
There are always some condemnations irrespective of huge efforts done over any issue. RTI activist exposed some violations of guidelines and biased selection process in “Indian Rupee Symbol” design competition. But I think that we all Indians should be proud to have our own currency symbol and so let us all welcome our new symbol with due admiration rather than being fussy about it. The important issue to be dealt is the management of the symbol. Managing with prudence and poise should be the attitude of government. An enormous amount of public sentiment is attached with the currency. So if the government fails to execute the proper management of the Rupee’s new avatar, the government it self would be reprehensible for it.
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| D Udaya Kumar |
To my surprise, I just finished writing this article and I overheard the news on television that Rupee Symbol has been finalized. The design of D Udaya Kumar, who holds both a Masters Degree and has a Doctorate in Industrial Design from the esteemed IIT (Bombay) has been finalized.
His design was not among the five short listed designs. He field tested it ny getting the common man to write it. This was to ascertain how easy it was to execute and recall. He submitted these video clips to the jury, which was later announced as the final word by the cabinet. This called for various quibbling over the selection process.
But we should take a proud stand. We finally got our prestigious symbol which is a mark of identity in global markets to make its way for itself. The country needed this boost and this is the perfect time for it.
Last but not the least the symbol identification will add a remarkable recognition by strengthening our position in the global market scenario.
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