Govt rules out ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to tackle rupee fall
The government on Friday ruled out any “knee-jerk reaction” to tackle the fall in rupee and said appropriate measures would be taken after taking into consideration the global situation. Against the backdrop of the rupee breaching the 69-mark versus the US dollar and touching lifetime lows on Thursday, finance minister Piyush Goyal emphasised that there is no need for any knee-jerk reaction to deal with the situation.
The rupee closed at an all-time low of 68.79 on Thursday due to multiple headwinds, including concerns over inflation and weak global cues. The currency recovered lost ground today to touch 68.36 in afternoon trade.
“I have full faith that the RBI, which manages foreign exchange and rates, and the government will sit together and discuss. We will take a call on appropriate measures taking into consideration the global situation,” he noted. “Knee-jerk reaction is not called for. One has to work in an organised market and in an organised fashion,” Goyal told reporters here.
In 2013, when the rupee hit 68, thethenRBIgovernorRaghuram Rajan introduced Foreign Currency Non-Resident Bank (FCNR-B) deposits under which $32 billion came to India for three years. Following this, the rates stabilised, he said on the sidelines of a conference.
“We have returned those $32 billion and if you see in last five years there has not been any depreciation in rupee. If you look at macroeconomic data, there could be some speculation because the foreign exchange reserves was $304 billion and it was $425 billion at the end of
NEW DELHI:
With deposits by Indians in Swiss banks surging, finance minister Piyush Goyal on Friday wondered how all of it can be assumed to be black money, but said strong action would be taken against anyone found guilty of wrongdoing.
India would start getting details of bank accounts from Switzerland under a bilateral treaty, he said.
Money parked by Indians in Swiss banks rose over 50% to CHF 1.01 billion (₹7,000 crore) in 2017, reversing a three-year downward
2017-18,” Goyal said.
The minister said the current account deficit (CAD), which was 4.8% in 2012-13, came down to 1.9% in the last fiscal. Similarly, fiscal deficit that stood at 4.5% at that time fell to 3.5%, he said. “Our macroeconomic indicators from all respect are better today. But you know global environment, there was some announcement trend amid India’s clampdown on suspected black money stashed there.
In comparison, the total funds held by all foreign clients of Swiss banks rose about 3% to CHF 1.46 trillion or about ₹100 lakh crore in 2017, according to data released by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central banking authority of the Alpine nation.
India has a treaty with Switzerland under which the Swiss government would provide all data from January 1, 2018 till December 31, 2018. India would get data as the accounting year ends, Goyal said.
NEWDELHI:
with respect to oil, interest rate in US have hardened. So, there is a flight of capital towards the US,” he added.
Goyal, who also holds the corporate affairs ministry portfolio, addressed an international conference on ‘Professionals of the Future: Thoughts on 2018 & Beyond’ organised by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India.