Reading Comprehension Practice Passages NET, IAS, State-SET (KSET, WBSET, MPSET, etc.), GATE, CUET, Olympiads etc.: Indian Currency

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July 15,2010 turned out to be a historic day, as the Indian Rupee got the much-awaited symbol, just like other leading currencies of the world, viz Dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling and the Yen. The new symbol ₹ Is an amalgamation of Devanagari ‘Ra’ and the Roman ‘R’ without the stem. Till now, the Rupee was written in various abbreviated forms in different languages.

The new symbol designed by IIT Bombay postgraduate Shri D. Udaya Kumar was approved by the Union Cabinet on July 15. “it՚s a big statement on the Indian currency. The symbol would lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and global face of the Indian economy,” said Information and Broadcasting Minister Smt Ambika Soni, while briefing the media on the Cabinet decision.

The new symbol will not be printed or embossed on currency notes or coins, but it would be included in the ‘Unicode Standard’ to ensure that it is easily displayed and printed in the electronic and print media. The encoding of the rupee symbol in the Indian Standards is estimated to take about six months while encoding in the Unicode and ISO/IEC 10646 will take about 18 months to two years. It will also be incorporated in software packages and keyboards for use in India.

On March 5,2009 the Government announced a contest to create a symbol for the Rupee, inviting entries for the symbol, which would reflect and capture the Indian ethos and culture. Over 3000 entries were received, which were evaluated by a jury headed by the Deputy Governor, RBI, which also included experts from three reputed art and design institutes. The Jury selected five entries and also gave its evaluation of these five entries to the Government to take a final decision.

Shri Udaya Kumar՚s entry was the ‘Best of Five’ He will get an award of ₹ 2.5 lakh and more than that an incredible fame, as the designer of the Rupee symbol. “My design is a perfect blend of Indian and Roman letters capital ‘R’ and Devanagri ‘Ra’ which represents rupaiah, to appeal to international and Indian audiences. It is based on the tricolour, with two lines at the top and white space in between,” a visibly-happy Kumar said.

The genesis of the word ‘rupee’ is in the Sanskrit word ‘raupya’ which means silver. Indian Rupee is variously called ‘rupaya’ in Hindi, ‘rupiya’ in Gujarati, ‘roopayi’ in Telugu and Kannada, ‘rubai’ in Tamil and ‘rupyakam’ in Sanskrit. However in Eastern India it is called ‘Taka/Toka’ in Bengali and Assamese and ‘Tanka’ in Oriya.

India stands among the earliest to issue coin, and as a result it has seen a wide range of monetary units throughout its history. There is some historical evidence to show that coins may have been introduced the first time some time between 2500 and 1750 BC.

  1. Who is the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister?
    1. Smt Sushma Swaraj
    2. Smt Meera Kumar
    3. Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil
    4. Smt Ambika Soni
    5. None of these
    • Answer: d
  2. What is the importance of 15 July in the history of Indian rupee?
    1. The new Rupee symbol replaced the old.
    2. The international community approved the Rupee symbol.
    3. The Cabinet approved the much-awaited Rupee symbol.
    4. Both A and C
    5. None of these
    • Answer: c
  3. Which of the following countries has a currency symbol?
    1. China
    2. France
    3. Singapore
    4. Germany
    5. Not mentioned in the passage
    • Answer: e
  4. Who has designed the newly approved Rupee symbol?
    1. A teacher posted at IIT Bombay
    2. Mr Uday Kumar of Maharashtra
    3. Mr D Uday Kumar, a postgraduate
    4. Information and Broadcasting Minister
    5. None of these
    • Answer: c
  5. The new design ‘₹’ finds its origin in
    1. Devanagari
    2. Roman
    3. Devanagari and Sanskrit
    4. Devanagari and Roman
    5. None of these
    • Answer: d
  6. What is the importance of the new Rupee symbol?
    1. It highlights the strength of the Indian economy.
    2. Now Indian rupee gets value like Dollar, Pound, Euro Yen.
    3. Now most of the foreign countries will maintain their foreign exchange reserves in Rupee.
    4. Now it will be a fully convertible currency.
    5. None of these
    • Answer: a
  7. Where is the genesis of the term ‘rupee’
    1. It has been derived from Sanskrit word ‘Raupya’
    2. It finds its origin in the term ‘Rupaya’ of Hindi.
    3. ‘Rupiyo’ in Gujarati
    4. ‘Roopayi’ in Tamil and Kannada
    5. None of these
    • Answer: a
  8. What does ‘Raupya’ mean in Sanskrit?
    1. Gold
    2. Diamond
    3. Silver
    4. Bronze
    5. None of these
    • Answer: c
  9. What is Rupee called in Oriya?
    1. Taka
    2. Toka
    3. Rupyakam
    4. Tanka
    5. None of these
    • Answer: d
  10. When was the first coin introduced?
    1. Between 250 and 750 BC
    2. Between 2500 and 1750 AD
    3. Between 250 and 759 AD
    4. Between 2500 and 1750 BC
    5. None of these
    • Answer: d
  11. When was the process to develop a new rupee symbol initiated?
    1. 15 July 2010
    2. 5 June 2009
    3. 5 March 2009
    4. 31 January 2010
    5. None of these
    • Answer: c
  12. Which among the following methods did the Government adopt to get the new symbol?
    1. All the leading artists were asked to design.
    2. A contest was announced for the purpose.
    3. The contestants were interviewed.
    4. The governor of RBI was asked to decide the process.
    5. None of these
    • Answer: b
  13. What do the two lines of the design mean?
    1. They reflect the federal structure of the govt.
    2. They reflect the mixed structure of Indian economy.
    3. They reflect the new liberalized Indian economy.
    4. They reflect the tri-colour India flag.
    5. None of these
    • Answer: d
  14. How many designs were sent to the Government for approval?
    1. 3000
    2. 2000
    3. 10 out of 3000
    4. 5 out of more than 3000
    5. None of these
  • Answer: d