The Indian Rupee which just got its very own currency symbol is the very latest entrant in the currency symbols club associated with the US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro and Sterling Pound. On Thursday July 15th, the government approved a symbol designed by a post-graduate student over thousands of other options in a bid to give the Rupee its own identity. The excitement around India seems to reflect the people’s acceptance of this new symbol which will also be a symbol for the economic emergence of the country as most see it. Perhaps there is more to branding the Indian Rupee than just a symbolic identity.

The day the new symbol was approved, the Rupee was up on the dollar at 46.60 to a dollar. In no way connected to the new symbol, this has been more than a short term trend and the last few years have witnessed a strong and stable currency which has added to the confidence of businesses looking to invest in India or acquire stakes in ventures here. With the support of a quickly developing economy, a reliable banking system and bullish businesses the Rupee from a certain perspective, has managed to build a brand of its own which goes beyond the symbolic sense of a brand.

There is a sense of urgency in the global business world to make the right moves, acquire the right assets and rake in the Rupees as the Indian market continues to plough ahead.  Consumers are spending more Rupees than ever before, the government is investing more of it in infrastructure and development than the old days and there are opportunities to be grabbed in this part of the world which can reap returns for the future. At the center of all this has been a currency which once had very little attention from the international business community but is now on the strategy plans of just about every global business. A currency which has managed to build something of a brand for itself even before it was given its own symbol.

So as the Indian Rupee takes on its new identity in the form of a new currency symbol you can’t help but think it couldn’t have come at a better time!