NEW DELHI: Dharmalingam Udaya Kumar (31), an IIT post-graduate, gave the Indian Rupee its new global identity with the Union Cabinet approving a symbol on the Rupee designed by him on Thursday.
The decision announced, news spread like wildfire and Kumar was flooded with calls from India and abroad.
Speaking to Express, a jubilant Kumar confessed he was missing his family at this golden moment in his life. “I wanted to talk to my family,” Kumar said, breaking into Tamil. A native of Thanjavur, Kumar’s family resides at Thondiarpet in Chennai.
Kumar was among five finalists chosen by the panel headed by RBI deputy governor Usha Thorat. As winner, Kumar bagged Rs 2,50,000 prize money while the other four finalists would get Rs 25,000 each.
The four others were Jitiesh Padmashali (an advertising professional), Shahrukh J. Irani (a designer), Nondita Correa-Mehrotra (lecturer in architectural design at MIT and daughter of well-known architect Charles Correa) and Shibin K K, a Kerala teacher.