March 13, 2025: In a significant escalation of the ongoing language debate with the central government, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has dropped the official rupee symbol from the state’s 2025-26 budget. Instead, the government has used the Tamil letter for ‘ru’ from ‘rubai’ (rupees in Tamil).

A teaser for the budget, which will be presented in the state assembly on March 14, was shared by Stalin on X (formerly Twitter). The post emphasized the government’s commitment to the “widespread development of Tamil Nadu to benefit all sections of society.” Notably, the budget’s logo omitted the national rupee symbol, which is inspired by the Devanagari letter for ‘R’.

The move aligns with Tamil Nadu’s long-standing resistance to Hindi imposition and comes at a time when the state government continues to oppose the National Education Policy (NEP) and the three-language formula. While the previous two state budgets prominently featured the rupee symbol, this marks the first time a state has officially rejected the national currency symbol.

Adding to the controversy, the rupee symbol was originally designed by an IIT-Guwahati professor, who is also the son of a DMK leader. The Tamil Nadu government’s latest stance reinforces its push for linguistic and cultural identity, further intensifying the ongoing federal versus regional language debate.

As the budget presentation approaches, the decision is expected to spark further discussions on linguistic autonomy and political assertions in the state’s governance.