Govt, RBI closely monitoring Rupee movements, says FM Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha | Highlights from her address

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, pointed that major Asian currencies depreciated during the period from October 2021 to January 2025. She was responding to concerns over the depreciation of Indian rupee.

“G10 currencies also depreciated by more than 5.5 per cent during Oct 2021-Jan 2025,” the Finance Minister said. She further added that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is keeping a watch on volatility in Indian rupee.

Here are the top points from the Finance Minister’s address in the Upper House:

-This Budget has been made during a very difficult time. The challenges, particularly the external challenges are very severe, most of which are beyond any projections or predictions.

-There are no models that you can build and understand how the trends will be because they are very dynamic.

-Whilst the post-Covid time has made states to borrow, and not just Indian states but countries to borrow, to meet with specific difficulties that they have had to face, and also handhold people and at the same time give growth impetus, has led to a situation where countries are borrowing, and rising debt is a problem.

-Globalisation versus fragmentation, which is the reality; fiscal prudence versus growing debt, which is the reality; and everybody wants to have free market situation, but you have aggressive tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers, so you are facing a world where lot of talk goes on about keeping the markets free, but no one country wants to have free market when it comes to their interest.

-The first advance estimates from the NSO has said that India's economy will grow by 6.4% in real terms and about 9.7% in nominal terms. So, the Budget this year, we have kept our goals in such a way that we are able to accelerate growth, secure inclusive development, invigorate private sector investments, uplift household sentiments and also to directly or indirectly enhance spending power of the Indian rising middle-class.

-CPI for January 2025 is now close to lower end of RBI’s inflation target.

-Government has moved the devolution of tax date for states from 20th to 10th of every month to improve their cash flow.

-Government managed Covid crisis and India became world's top fifth economy while we were in fragile 5 after global financial crisis.

-We believe overvalued currencies erode national competitiveness as exports become expensive.

- Responding to Opposition allegations that the Budget 2025 focused only on BJP-ruled states, Sitharaman said these are “unfounded allegations”.