In the intraday trade, the rupee slipped below the 82-level for the first time against the American currency, as a negative trend in domestic equities and significant foreign fund outflows sapped investor appetite.
The ministry has calculated this amount bearing in mind the difference in prices from January 1 to December 6. Post this, the finance ministry has reacted by asking the bankers to put in writing whether the government should go ahead with the divestment or not.
The RBI likely sold dollars via state-run banks from 61.85 rupee levels, three traders said after the currency touched to all time lows of 62/USD on Friday.
Among the various reforms announced, the RBI will be auctioning Rs 22000 crore of government cash management bills every week, it said in a statement, without specifying for how many weeks the sales would last. Narayan expects the RBI to announce more policy reforms if the rupee starts showing signs of weakness again.
Moses Harding of Indusind Bank told CNBC-TV18 that the central bank was trying to protect the 59.90-60/USD range so that it does not touch a new low beyond 60/USd. He added thatdollar supplying to arrest the slide was not the solution to the problem.
Indian rupee fell to a life-time low of 58.50/USD on the back of weakness of the other Asian currencies. Traders are on the lookout for any intervention from the Reserve Bank of India.