Tapping NRIs to strengthen falling rupee |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s government is considering tapping Indians living overseas to lure foreign exchange flows and prop up a sagging rupee, informed sources said..Officials from the finance ministry and the central bank are discussing a plan to raise money from non-resident Indians, the people said asking not to be named as the information is not public. An announcement regarding the method may come as early as this month, they said, without providing further details. India is seeking to boost flows to support its currency that has declined more than 14 percent against the dollar this year, Asia`s worst performer. The risk of a widening current-account deficit left the rupee vulnerable to the rout in emerging markets amid surging oil prices, trade tensions and rising US interest rates. The rupee fell 0.4 percent on october 9 to a record low of 74.3950 per dollar. In the past too, the government has resorted to bond sales and dollar deposits to overseas Indians to attract foreign funds and ward off pressure on the rupee. RBI had put in place a so-called foreign currency non-resident bank deposits plan in 2013 to support the rupee during taper tantrum.
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