The Indian rupee gets its own symbol, a mix of the Devanagri ''Ra'' and Roman ''R'', and with this becomes only the fifth currency in the world to have a distinct identity. The Indian rupee thus joins the elite club of currencies comprising of the US dollar, British pound, European euro and Japanese yen - that currently have their own symbols. The new symbol, designed by IIT post-graduate D Uday Kumar was approved by the Union Cabinet today. Kumar''s entry was chosen from among 3,000 designs competing for the currency symbol. He will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakhs. According to an official statement " The symbol for the Rupee would lend a distinctive character and identity to the currency and further highlight the strength and robustness of the Indian economy as also a favoured destination for global investments."