Exchange rate history of the Indian rupee

Short description: none

## Contents

* 1 Monetary system and exchange rate before independence
* 2 Rupee value in early post-independence period
* 3 Rupee value after 1974
* 4 Notes for table below
* 5 1974 to 2025
* 6 References

## Monetary system and exchange rate before independence

Indian Rupee Symbol

Prior to World War One, the major countries (England, USA etc.) were on the gold standard. The Indian rupee coin was silver, convertible into gold at the prevailing 15:1 ratio based on their weights. [Note that 1 pound equalled 20 shillings (sh.) and 1 shilling equalled 12 pence (d.). So, 1 pound = 20×12 = 240d.] Hence the rupee exchange rate was 240/15 equalled 16 d. or 1 sh. 4 d. This was its par value. It was called a silver exchange standard: rupee notes were convertible into silver coin, and that was in turn convertible into gold. Based on the actual sale of Council Bills, incorporating transaction costs, the Rs. was 1 sh. 3.906 d. for the years 1907 to 1911, effectively at par. However, during World War 1 the Rs. rose to 1 sh. 4.906 d. by 1918–19 and during this time the par value was also raised.[1]

The rupee was worth one shilling and sixpence in sterling in 1947. The US dollar was worth ₹3.3085 in 1947[2] and ₹92.30 in March 2026.[3]

## Rupee value in early post-independence period

At Independence the Rs. was fixed at 1 sh. 6 d. which was equivalent of Rs 13.33 per pound sterling. In 1949 the pound was devalued against the U.S. dollar to $2.80 per pound, but the Rs. pound rate was left unchanged. So the Rs. became 4.76 per $ (13.33/2.80). This fixed exchange rate continued until 1966 when the Rs. was devalued, following a severe drought, and based on World Bank advice and pressure to Rs. 7.50 per US $.[4]

## Rupee value after 1974

This is a list of tables showing the historical timeline of the exchange rate for the Indian rupee (INR) against the special drawing rights unit (SDR), United States dollar (USD), pound sterling (GBP), Deutsche mark (DM), euro (EUR) and Japanese yen (JPY).[5]

## Notes for table below

* The data on exchange rate for Japanese yen is in per 100 Yen.
* The end-of-year rate for 1998–99 pertains to March 26, 1999, of the Deutsche Mark rate.
* Data from 1971 to 1991–92 are based on official exchange rates.
* Data from 1992 to 1993 onward are based on FEDAI (Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association of India) indicative rates.
* Data from 1971 to 1972–73 for the Deutsche Mark and the Japanese Yen are cross rates with the US Dollar.
* The Euro replaced the Deutsche Mark w.e.f. January 1, 1999.

## 1974 to 2025

Exchange Rate of the Indian Rupee vis-a-vis the SDR, USD, GBP, DM and JPY (FY, annual average and end-year rates)[6][7] Year | SDR (average) | SDR (end year) | USD (average) | USD (end year) | GBP (average) | GBP (end year) | DM/EUR (average) | DM/EUR (end year) | JPY (average) | JPY (end year)

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1974–75 | 9.6233 | 9.723 | 7.9408 | 7.74 | 18.8 | 18.776 | 3.1917 | 3.324 | 3 | 2.7
1975–76 | 10.3642 | 10.375 | 8.6825 | 8.973 | 18.3933 | 17.19 | 3.4458 | 3.535 | 3 | 3
1976–77 | 10.35 | 10.206 | 8.9775 | 8.804 | 15.5733 | 15.144 | 3.6308 | 3.686 | 3 | 3.2
1977–78 | 10.1605 | 10.43 | 8.5858 | 8.434 | 15.4292 | 15.656 | 3.8358 | 4.169 | 3.33 | 3.8
1978–79 | 10.4315 | 10.488 | 8.2267 | 8.15 | 15.9658 | 16.861 | 4.22 | 4.364 | 4 | 3.9
1979–80 | 10.4935 | 10.251 | 8.0975 | 8.193 | 17.655 | 17.753 | 4.4717 | 4.219 | 3.58 | 3.3
1980–81 | 10.1777 | 10.0620 | 7.9092 | 8.1900 | 18.5042 | 18.3800 | 4.1875 | 3.9000 | 3.7500 | 3.9000
1981–82 | 10.3354 | 10.4030 | 8.9683 | 9.3460 | 17.1096 | 16.6520 | 3.8607 | 3.8710 | 3.9400 | 3.8000
1982–83 | 10.5628 | 10.7540 | 9.6660 | 9.9700 | 16.1356 | 14.7460 | 3.9600 | 4.1090 | 3.8900 | 4.2000
1983–84 | 10.9405 | 11.3940 | 10.3400 | 10.7070 | 15.4174 | 15.4460 | 3.9402 | 4.1340 | 4.3800 | 4.8000
1984–85 | 11.9328 | 12.3210 | 11.8886 | 12.4300 | 14.8668 | 15.4500 | 3.9877 | 4.0190 | 4.8700 | 4.9000
1985–86 | 12.9232 | 13.9860 | 12.2349 | 12.3061 | 16.8467 | 18.2500 | 4.5553 | 5.3020 | 5.6200 | 6.8000
1986–87 | 15.4472 | 16.6210 | 12.7782 | 12.8882 | 15.2255 | 20.7490 | 6.2970 | 7.1620 | 8.0200 | 8.9000
1987–88 | 17.1208 | 17.9700 | 12.9658 | 13.0318 | 22.0872 | 24.3510 | 7.4004 | 7.8070 | 9.4100 | 10.3000
1988–89 | 19.2619 | 20.2080 | 14.4817 | 15.6630 | 25.5959 | 26.3990 | 8.0494 | 8.2590 | 11.3000 | 11.8000
1989–90 | 21.3684 | 22.4090 | 16.6492 | 17.3248 | 26.9179 | 28.3010 | 9.0922 | 10.1670 | 11.6600 | 11.0000
1990–91 | 24.8431 | 26.4140 | 17.9428 | 19.6429 | 33.1930 | 34.0500 | 11.4351 | 11.4270 | 12.7900 | 13.9000
1991–92 | 33.4325 | 35.5143 | 24.4737 | 31.2256 | 42.5151 | 53.6913 | 14.6248 | 18.3501 | 18.4400 | 23.2800
1992–93 | 37.1415 | 43.6511 | 30.6488 | 31.2354 | 51.6858 | 46.6200 | 19.5877 | 19.2864 | 24.5900 | 26.9900
1993–94 | 43.8863 | 44.3133 | 31.3655 | 31.3725 | 47.2064 | 46.5200 | 18.7403 | 18.7575 | 29.1100 | 35.5200
1994–95 | 45.7908 | 49.1558 | 31.3986 | 31.4950 | 48.8211 | 50.5650 | 20.2017 | 22.3600 | 31.6341 | 35.2888
1995–96 | 50.4768 | 50.1633 | 33.4498 | 34.3500 | 52.3526 | 52.4300 | 23.3993 | 23.3038 | 34.8425 | 32.2975
1996–97 | 50.8858 | 49.8032 | 35.4999 | 35.9150 | 56.3646 | 58.6938 | 22.9244 | 21.3863 | 31.5879 | 28.9463
1997–98 | 50.6735 | 52.7677 | 37.1648 | 39.4950 | 61.0240 | 66.1638 | 20.9613 | 21.3350 | 30.2990 | 29.7813
1998–99 | 57.5129 | 57.6132 | 42.0706 | 42.4350 | 69.5505 | 68.3588 | 24.1792 | 23.2863 | 33.1341 | 35.3263
1999–00 | 58.9335 | 58.7505 | 43.3327 | 43.6050 | 69.8510 | 69.5100 | 44.7909 | 41.7975 | 39.0606 | 41.4825
2000–01 | 59.5459 | 58.7969 | 45.6844 | 46.6400 | 67.5522 | 66.5788 | 41.4832 | 41.0113 | 41.4052 | 37.4338
2001–02 | 60.2150 | 60.8446 | 47.6919 | 48.8000 | 68.3189 | 69.5863 | 42.1811 | 42.6438 | 38.1790 | 36.8063
2002–03 | 64.1257 | 65.2550 | 48.3953 | 47.5050 | 74.8193 | 74.9225 | 48.0901 | 51.4925 | 39.7363 | 39.8925
2003–04 | 65.6876 | 64.2393 | 45.9516 | 43.4450 | 77.7389 | 79.6813 | 53.9896 | 53.1725 | 40.7077 | 41.6725
2004–05 | 66.9282 | 66.0987 | 44.9315 | 43.7550 | 82.8644 | 82.1125 | 56.5523 | 56.5863 | 41.8046 | 40.8075
2005–06 | 64.4898 | 64.2566 | 44.2735 | 44.6050 | 79.0472 | 77.7963 | 53.9124 | 54.1875 | 39.1438 | 38.0188
2006–07 | 67.2538 | 65.8289 | 45.2849 | 43.5950 | 85.7274 | 85.5938 | 58.1110 | 58.1513 | 38.7975 | 37.0338
2007–08 | 62.6506 | 65.7307 | 40.2410 | 39.9850 | 80.8016 | 79.5138 | 56.9906 | 63.0963 | 35.2896 | 40.0650
2008–09 | 71.2770 | 76.1742 | 45.9170 | 50.9450 | 78.4485 | 72.8575 | 65.1345 | 67.4713 | 46.0521 | 51.8900
2009–10 | 73.7333 | 68.5335 | 47.4166 | 45.1350 | 75.8861 | 68.0188 | 67.0843 | 60.5913 | 51.1261 | 48.4338
2010–11 | 69.7228 | 70.7930 | 45.5768 | 44.6450 | 70.8853 | 71.9163 | 60.2181 | 63.2350 | 53.2963 | 54.0175
2011–12 | 75.3132 | 79.2512 | 47.9229 | 51.1600 | 76.3912 | 81.7975 | 65.8939 | 68.3550 | 60.7484 | 62.4250
2012–13 | 83.0262 | 81.4764 | 53.2112 | 54.2323 | 85.9713 | 82.3209 | 70.0693 | 69.5438 | 65.8530 | 57.7600
2013–14 | 92.2602 | 92.7790 | 60.5019 | 60.0998 | 98.3058 | 99.8498 | 81.1745 | 82.5765 | 60.4026 | 58.8300
2014–15 | 90.7955 | 86.3431 | 61.1436 | 62.5908 | 98.5731 | 92.4591 | 77.5209 | 67.5104 | 55.8266 | 52.1100
2015–16 | 91.3452 | 93.4510 | 65.4685 | 66.3329 | 98.7260 | 95.0882 | 72.2894 | 75.0955 | 54.5934 | 59.0600
2016–17 | 92.6156 | 87.9763 | 67.0720 | 64.8386 | 87.6897 | 80.8797 | 73.6087 | 69.2476 | 62.0350 | 57.9600
2017–18 | 90.8989 | 94.8065 | 64.4549 | 65.0441 | 85.5129 | 92.2846 | 75.4378 | 80.6222 | 58.1822 | 61.5400
2018–19 | 98.0361 | 96.0273 | 69.9229 | 69.1713 | 91.7865 | 90.4756 | 80.9580 | 77.7024 | 63.0468 | 65.5200
2019–20 | 97.6267 | 102.8870 | 70.8970 | 75.3859 | 90.1587 | 93.0760 | 78.7997 | 83.0496 | 65.2442 | 69.6500
2020–21 | 104.5530 | 104.1710 | 74.2250 | 73.5047 | 97.0386 | 100.9509 | 86.5385 | 86.0990 | 70.0366 | 66.3600
2021–22 | 105.3677 | 104.7960 | 74.5039 | 75.8071 | 101.8107 | 99.5524 | 86.5922 | 84.6599 | 66.3389 | 62.2300
2022–23 | 106.4172 | 110.6010 | 80.3635 | 82.2169 | 96.8216 | 101.8728 | 83.6826 | 89.6076 | 59.4073 | 61.8000
2023–24 | 110.2343 | 110.3390 | 82.7897 | 83.3739 | 104.0468 | 105.2935 | 89.8022 | 90.2178 | 57.3740 | 55.0900
2024–25 | 111.8956 | 113.4500 | 84.5756 | 85.5814 | 107.8792 | 110.7389 | 90.7604 | 92.3246 | 55.5302 | 56.7500

## References

1. ↑ Ambedkar, B. R. (1947) History of Indian Currency and Banking. Bombay: Thacker & Company Ltd., p. 250.
2. ↑ "Rupee's journey since Independence: Down by 65 times against dollar". The Economic Times (Bennett, Coleman & Co). 2013-08-04. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-08-24/news/41444029_1_indian-rupee-american-currency-continued-dollar-demand.
3. ↑ "Rupee hits record low, slips past 92.30 against the US dollar – Why is it happening?" (in en). https://www.india.com/business/rupee-hits-record-low-slips-past-92-30-against-the-us-dollar-why-is-it-happening-8335802/.
4. ↑ Joshi, Vijay; Little, Ian Malcolm David (1994-01-01) (in en). India: Macroeconomics and Political Economy, 1964–1991. World Bank Publications. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-8213-2652-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=1ysKnWTBf4MC.
5. ↑ "Exchange Rate of the Indian Rupee Vis-a-vis the SDR, US Dollar, Pound Stirling, D.M. / Euro and Japanese Yen". https://www.rbi.org.in/upload/Publications/PDFs/56513.pdf.
6. ↑ "Table 140 : Exchange Rate of the Indian Rupee vis-à-vis the Sdr, US Dollar, Pound Sterling, D.M./Euro and Japanese Yen (Financial Year-Annual Average and end-Year Rates)". Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy (Reserve Bank of India). 2013-09-16. https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=15268. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
7. ↑ "Table 136 : Exchange Rate of the Indian Rupee vis-à-vis the Sdr, US Dollar, Pound Sterling, D.M./Euro and Japanese Yen (Financial Year-Annual Average and end-Year Rates)". Handbook of Statistics on Indian Economy (Reserve Bank of India). 2025-08-29. https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=23310. Retrieved 2026-03-20.

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