New Delhi: The Indian Rupee will finally have a symbol like the US Dollar ($), Euro or the Pound. The Union Cabinet today selected Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) Post-Graduate student D. Uday Kumar's entry as the design for the Indian Rupee.

A public competition was held amongst resident Indian citizens inviting entries for the symbol, which reflects and captures 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 entries were presented to the Jury in such a manner that identity of the competitors was not revealed to the Jury members. The Jury selected five final entries and also gave its evaluation of these five entries to the Government to take a final decision - out of which the IIT grad's design was finalised today.

Kumar will receive an award of Rs.2.5 lakh for his design.

"The symbol will standardize the expression for Indian Rupee in different languages, both within and outside the country. It would better distinguish the Indian currency from those countries whose currencies are also designated as Rupee or Rupiah, such as Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia", the Cabinet said in a press note.