RUPEE (Hindustani rupiya, from

See also:

• SANSKRIT

Sanskrit rupya)  , the standard coin of the monetary system in India . A silver coin of 175 grains Troy, called tanka, approximating to the rupee, was struck by the Mahommedan rulers of Delhi in the 13th century; but the rupee itself, of 179 grains, was introduced by Sher Shah in 1542 . The English at first followed various indigenous standards; but since 1835 the rupee has uniformly weighed 18o grains, containing 165 grains of pure silver . The weight of the rupee (one tola) is also the unit upon which the Indian standard of weights is based . Down to about 1873 the gold value of the rupee was 2s., and ten rupees were thus equal to £1; but after 1873, owing to the depreciation of silver, the rupee at one time sank as low in value as Is . In order to provide a remedy the government of India decided in 1893 to close the mints, and in 1899 to make the rupee legal tender at fifteen to £1 . This policy proved successful, and since 1899 the exchange value of the rupee has practically remained at is . 4d . Therefore a lakh of rupees, which before 1873 was worth £Io,000, is now only worth £6666, and a crore of rupees, which was formerly a million sterling, now only amounts to £666,666 . The rupee is divided into sixteen annas, now worth Id. each, and the anna is subdivided into 12 pies .