Indian Money
The official Indian currency is Rupee (a.k.a. Rupaya, Ruppai), the name derived from its silver coin predecessor. The code is INR
A Rupee is divided into 100 parts, each of which called a Paise.
Paise is sometimes referred to as Naya-Paise, meaning the “new-money”, a habit continued from when India became free from British — when the new county introduced new currency, people used Naya-Paise to distinguish it from the old currency.
Because of the smallness of the Rupee, it is very common to hear the word Lakh of Rupees in India, which mean 100,000 Rupees. A Crore of Rupees indicates one hundred Lakhs or ten million Rupees.
In post-independence days, another unit of currency, namely the Ana was prevalent. An Ana was equivalent of six Naya-Paise, and it was common to approximate a Quarter (25 Paise) to four Anas and Half-of-a-Rupee to eight Anas.
Indian currency is known as rupee. The Indian money (rupee) is available in denominations of Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 500 and Rs 1000. One rupee consists of a hundred paise. Paise are in denominations of 10p, 25p and 50p. However, these paise are rarely used. Coins are available for Re1, Rs 2 and Rs 5.
Exchanging Money in India:
Changing money in India can be a tedious and cumbersome process. So, it is advisable for you to change a substantial amount at one time. Travelers’ cheques are not accepted at each and every bank. It is even difficult to change currency other than dollars or pound sterling. However, make sure to change the money at accredited bureaus only, changing at any other place is illegal and also runs the risk of being counterfeit.
There are no restrictions on the amount of foreign currency or travelers’ cheques. A tourist may import any amount, provided he/she has filled a declaration form on arrival. This will help in exchanging your currency at the time of arrival as well as the taking back your unspent currency at the time of leaving.
You can get your currency exchanged at the airport itself also. The moneychangers at airports are open 24 hours. Also, moneychangers are available in some hotels too. In big cities, you will find several branches of International foreign exchange providers. However, in small towns however, only minor banks will be providing the service. You should save all exchange receipts (encashment certificates). You may require them for visa extensions and other formalities and at the time of going back, when you want to convert the rupees.