‘Not at all concerned about the rupee’: Sanjeev Sanyal says weakening INR itself doesn’t mean much
Sanjeev Sanyal, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), said the fall of the rupee should not be confused with the state of the economy. He added that economies experiencing strong growth often experience exchange rate weakness. Sanyal’s remarks come after the rupee crossed the 91 per dollar mark for the first time on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Times Network’s India Economic Conclave 2025, Sanyal said: “I am not at all concerned about the rupee… Let me say that the rupee and its current weakness should not necessarily be confused with some economic worry because historically, if you look at time, you will see that economies which are in their high growth phase very often go through a phase of weak exchange rate.”
He gave the example of other economies to explain his point of view: “So, for example, when the Japanese economy was growing very, very fast, their exchange rate remained quite low. The Chinese experienced this in the 90s and 2000s until they started allowing the yuan to strengthen. »
Sanyal said the weakening of the rupee itself means nothing as long as it does not generate domestic inflation.
Earlier, as the rupee crossed the 90 per dollar mark, the government’s chief economic advisor V Anantha Nageswaran also said the government was not “losing sleep” over the falling currency. He said the currency decline has not had a significant impact on inflation or export competitiveness, and the situation is expected to improve in the coming year.
Meanwhile, the rupee was trading in a tight range against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday, with the positive effect of fresh foreign fund inflows offset by concerns over trade deal uncertainty and risk aversion. Opening at 90.35 at the interbank forex market, the rupee strengthened to 90.32 before briefly touching 90.38 against the dollar. On Wednesday, the rupee had recovered 55 paise from its record low to close at 90.38 against the greenback.
Sanyal also spoke about trade deals and said New Delhi was pursuing trade talks very aggressively with the European Union and the United States. “But let me also be very clear: As we pursue these goals, we will have to make decisions in which some compromises must be made, but we will work to ensure that they are made in the best interest of our country,” he said.
Talking about India’s ties with the US, Sanyal said New Delhi has not escalated anything with Washington, but at the same time it has not complied.
