Concerned over fall in rupee, says Hindu outfit

New Delhi: Trouble brews within the Saffron family as one of its affiliates — Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has expressed “extreme concern” for fall in the rupee.

The SJM will be organising a round table to take a stock of the situation over which the Modi government has been facing widespread criticism. Various economists, including Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PMEAC) member Prof. Rathin Roy, have been invited for the round table conference on ‘What is true value of rupee?’ by the SJM on October 13. The rupee on Tuesday hit a new record low of 74.27 against the US dollar in afternoon trade.

“We are extremely concerned over the continuous fall in rupee. The economists, who are at important positions in the government should not take it lightly, as eventually this fall in the currency increases burden on the common man,” SJM co-convener Ashwani Mahajan told a news agency. He asserted that the RBI should play a proactive role in checking the decline.

Discussing RBI Governor Urjit Patel's recent remarks that the domestic currency is still better than its emerging market peers, Dr Mahajan said the Central Bank needs to play its role more actively.

In an apparent reference to Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar’s remarks that the rupee should find its fair value, the SJM co-convenor said that economists working in the government should be cautious before making any statements on the rupee.

“It is wrong to say the rupee is over valued, it is not at all over valued. On the contrary, such statements from important voices in the government affects the sentiment in the market,” he said.

Last week, while addressing a press conference after announcing RBI's fourth bi-monthly policy, the RBI governor had said the value of rupee is determined by market forces and the RBI does not have any “target or band” around any particular level of the exchange rate.

According to Dr Mahajan, all the issues related to the fall in rupee, including RBI’s stand on it, will be discussed at the round table organised later this week, for which the organisation has invited economists and policy makers from across the spectrum.