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The Indian Rupee (Symbol: INR) is India's national currency, subdivided into 100 paise (singular paisa). In the Bengali and Assamese languages, spoken in the states of West Bengal,Tripura and Assam, the Rupee is also known as a Taka. In Oriya language, spoken in the state of Orissa, the Rupee is known as Tanka. In Tamil, spoken in the state of Tamil Nadu, the Rupee is known as Rubai.
Historically, the Rupee, a word which means silver, was a silver coin. This had severe consequences in the nineteenth century, when the strongest economies in the world were on the gold standard. The discovery of vast quantities of silver in the U.S. and various European colonies resulted in a decline in the relative value of silver to gold. Suddenly the standard currency of India could not buy as much from the outside world. This event was known as "the fall of the Rupee."
As of 1 February 2005, the exchange rate of the rupee is 56.89 per euro, and 43.60 per US dollar.
During British rule, and the first decade of independence, it was subdivided into 16 Annas. Each Anna was subdivided into either 4 paise, or 12 pies. When Partition happened, the Pakistani Rupee came into existence, initially using Indian coins, and Indian currency notes simply overstamped with Pakistan.
In 1957, decimalization occurred and the rupee was now divided into 100 naye paise (Hindi for new paisas). After a few years, the initial "Naye" was dropped.
In previous times, the Indian Rupee was the official currency of other countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the Trucial States (now the UAE), and Malaysia. The Indian Rupee is also linked with the Bhutanese Ngultrum.
 Indian 100 Rupee banknote, Indian 20 Rupee banknote, 1 Rupee coin, 2 Rupee coin
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