Check Rupee slide to bring ‘Achche Din’

A common man finds himself in utterly confused state amidst talks of development and growth claims and counter claims made by the political leaders of our country. The treasury benches do not lose any opportunity to put blame on their predecessors for anything wrong while any bright spot or the ray of hope with regard to country’s development is claimed to be the result of the vision and farsightedness of persons at the helm. The economic welfare index is said to be effective touchstone to judge the development scenario. If more and more people of any country find themselves better placed with regard to satisfaction of their wants, the country is said to have developed and grown economically. The growths of GDP, Per Capita Income are the other parameters which can be taken into consideration while deciding about the development status of any country. The political pundits very cleverly mould and project these figures suiting to their needs and requirements.

The most important factor which is deliberately ignored by persons making tall claims of development or ‘achche din’ is the value of rupee which is declining continuously. Rupee vis-a vis Dollar or other prominent currencies of world stands nowhere. A glance at the currency value charts clearly tells the sad story and every Indian very naturally feels disappointed at finding the currency of his nation almost at the bottom of that chart. 

 The harsh beating, the rupee and Indian masses are getting at the hands of Dollar is now clearly depicting that the monetary and fiscal measures to check this downward trend have failed miserably. Many Governments and their economic experts have tried various measures to check this slide but without any effective outcome. The rupee continues to slide irrespective of the line of thinking adopted by persons in power. Even the drastic changes in our economic policies in 1991 in form of Globalisation could not reverse the trends. The ‘Make in India’ campaign although contains nothing new yet the hapless Indian masses have started to expect something miraculous from the kit bag of the new Govt. Such efforts have been tried and tested in the past too but it has been experienced that all such moves and initiatives have gone in favour of the developed Nations and   these Nations, pouncing on the opportunities offered on platter by the Indian Govts.,  have exploited the resources of our country to the best of their advantage and interest.   The age old theory of demand and supply interaction is visibly at the root of this movement in value of our currency. The demand for Dollar is up primarily because of persistent increase in oil imports and other infrastructural needs while on the other hand lack of suitable initiative by Indian entrepreneurs resulting from very low confidence level and fighting spirit has not been able to put the desired sheen and glitter of Brand India at Global levels. This leaves the flow of dollars in our country and demand of Indian Rupee in other countries much below the desired levels and compels Indian policy makers to adhere to the short term measures for improving things on this front by inviting foreign investors to invest in profitable projects in our country. But when foreign investor’s honeymoon gradually gets over and they start withdrawing their investments, this leads to decrease in supply of Dollar. Such scenario results in widening of gap between demand and supply and followed by the rupee slide.

In my opinion we have to revert to the sentiment of ‘Swadeshi Movement’ which called for the boycott of foreign goods. Although in the changed globalised environment the complete boycott cannot be thought of, yet Indian masses should mull over an idea of preferring Indian goods to the goods manufactured in other countries or even goods manufactured in India by the manufacturers of other countries. This subtle change and shift in the buying attitude would surely result in decrease in the demand of Dollar. We must learn to explore our strong areas and capitalise on that. Unexplored and unexploited natural resources need to be effectively tapped. Unconventional and renewed energy resources need to be explored and exploited so that the pressure of oil import bills could be eased out. Solar power, bio gas and nuclear energy resources can prove to be effective substitutes to the conventional petro resources. Such measures would certainly reduce our oil import bills. Public transport system should be strengthened and streamlined so that private use of vehicles can be discouraged.

Indian Tourism industry, handicrafts, ayurvedic products, Yoga and Indian film production and distribution should be strategically marketed as these products possess the unmatched potential of attracting customers worldwide and have the capacity of earning Dollars. Such suggested efforts and measures need trust and faith in one’s own capabilities which is so far missing in Indian entrepreneurs. Govt. Instead of offering various sops and concessions to foreign corporate sector should mull over the idea of promoting Indian entrepreneurs and products worldwide. Unless and until Brand India is made strong we cannot think of putting required strength in our Rupee. The measures adopted by the Governments in the form of inviting FDI have proved to be effective only for a shorter period of time. Although such cosmetic treatment is initially needed to check the depletion process being faced by Rupee yet depending heavily on such cosmetic measures would not bring in the desired trends. The confidence of Indian entrepreneur and corporate sector coupled with marketing vision and strategies would take us to identify our USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and move accordingly to face the global challenges and competition. It is therefore the Brand India alone which needs to be promoted to lift the sentiment and spirit of Indian manufacturers and through them the Indian products and their demand in global markets. Such collective and concerted efforts from Govt., entrepreneurs and consumers can put the much wanted smiles on Indian Rupee and we can proudly afford to glance at the currency conversion display boards anytime and anywhere.

DR SANJEEV TRIKHA