Amid language row, Tamil Nadu government replaces rupee symbol with Tamil letter in budget logo

Ahead of budget presentation on March 14, the Tamil Nadu government has replaced the official Devanagari-inspired Rupee symbol with the Tamil letter for ‘rupees’ in the state budget logo. The new logo, carrying the phrase “Ellorkkum Ellaam” (Everything for Everyone), was officially released by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin’s office on Thursday afternoon.

Chief Minister Stalin also shared a teaser of the upcoming budget on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizing the government’s commitment to ensuring inclusive development across all sections of society. His post was accompanied by hashtags such as #DravidianModel and #TNBudget2025.

Unlike the budgets of 2022-23 and 2023-24, which prominently featured the Rupee symbol, this year's logo conspicuously omits it. Notably, the Rupee symbol was designed by an IIT-Guwahati professor, who is also the son of a DMK leader. This marks the first instance of a state government not using the national currency symbol in an official capacity.

The move comes amid ongoing tensions between the Tamil Nadu government and the Centre over language policies. The state has long opposed the three-language formula prescribed in the National Education Policy (NEP), arguing that it imposes Hindi on Tamil speakers. Tamil Nadu continues to uphold its two-language policy (Tamil and English) and has been vocal against what it perceives as cultural and linguistic imposition by the Union government.

While critics see the exclusion of the Rupee symbol as a political statement, DMK spokesperson A. Saravanan clarified that it was not a rejection of the official symbol but rather an effort to promote the Tamil language by incorporating the Tamil script.