The Indian rupee sign ₹ is AltGr+4 on the English (India) keyboard layout. On other layouts, copy it or type 20B9 then Alt+X in Word. Udaya Kumar designed it in 2010, combining the Devanagari letter ra with a Latin R and the double bar of the equals sign.
01 All shortcuts at a glance
| Platform | Shortcut | |
|---|---|---|
| Windows (India layout) | Press AltGr + 4 (Ctrl+Alt+4) with English (India) selected |
|
| Windows (Office apps) | Hold Alt, type 8377 on the numpad, Word/Excel/Outlook only |
|
| Windows (any app) | Win + . symbol picker, or Character Map, search "rupee" |
|
| Mac | Ctrl+Cmd+Space → Character Viewer → search "Indian Rupee Sign" |
|
| Word / Outlook | Type 20B9, then press Alt + X |
|
| Google Docs | Insert → Special characters, search "rupee", click ₹ | |
| Linux (IBus) | Ctrl+Shift+U, then 20b9, then Enter |
|
| HTML / CSS | ₹ or ₹ · CSS 20B9 |
02 Step by step, per platform
A real, followable procedure for every platform, not a thin restatement of the shortcut.
Windows (India keyboard)
- Open Settings → Time & language → Language & region and add English (India) if it isn't listed.
- Switch the input method to English (India) from the taskbar (or press Win+Space).
- Press AltGr + 4 (the right Alt key + 4). On layouts without AltGr use Ctrl + Alt + 4. ₹ appears.
Windows (any app, no layout change)
- Press Win + . (period) to open the emoji & symbol picker.
- Open the Ω symbols tab and search rupee, or open Character Map (Win+R → charmap).
- Click ₹ to insert it. In Word/Excel/Outlook you can also hold Alt and type 8377 on the numeric keypad.
Mac
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer.
- Search for Indian Rupee Sign in the search field.
- Double-click the ₹ result to insert it at the cursor.
Microsoft Word
- Type the code point 20B9 where you want the symbol.
- Press Alt + X immediately after, Word converts it to ₹.
- To reverse it, place the cursor after ₹ and press Alt + X again.
Google Docs
- Open Insert → Special characters.
- Type rupee in the search box (or draw the symbol).
- Click the ₹ result to drop it into the document.
03 Characters in this set
04 Troubleshooting & confusables
| Looks like it | But it's actually | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Rs | The older two-letter abbreviation | Still widely used and always safe. The symbol postdates it by decades. |
| ₨ (U+20A8) | The generic rupee sign | For Pakistani, Sri Lankan and Nepalese rupees, which do not use the Indian symbol. |
| R with two bars | A font approximation | Never. The real character has a distinct Devanagari-derived top bar. |
05 FAQ
What is the Unicode code point for the Indian rupee sign?
It is U+20B9, decimal 8377. There is no Windows Alt code, since it postdates the Windows-1252 code page entirely.
Why does Alt+8377 only work in some apps?
Alt with a decimal value above 255 relies on a Word and Office feature, not the system-wide Alt-code mechanism. In other applications it does nothing, so copy the character instead.
Is ₹ the same as ₨?
No. U+20B9 is specifically the Indian rupee, adopted in 2010. U+20A8 is the older generic rupee sign, still used for Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
How do I enable the Indian keyboard layout?
Add English (India) as an input language in Windows settings, then AltGr+4 produces the symbol directly. macOS offers a Devanagari layout with the same character.
Who designed the symbol?
Udaya Kumar, then a design student at IIT Bombay, won a public competition in 2010. The design merges the Devanagari letter ra with a Latin R and adds a horizontal double bar.