View: Rupee Crossing 100 May Not Be Catastrophic, But Can India Convince the World About Its Growth Story?
As the rupee approaches the psychologically-important 100-a-dollar mark, policymakers are once again being asked whether the currency needs defending. Former RBI governor D Subbarao and Finance Commission chairman Arvind Panagariya are right when they say that 100 is 'just a number'. Absolute values of exchange rates cannot be viewed as report cards of national pride. Japan's yen and South Korea's won have also weakened materially against the dollar in recent years. Britain's pound has also seen periods of sharp depreciation without sparking existential fears.
