With the Indian rupee continuing its downward spiral against the US dollar, touching Rs 82.32 on Friday, October 14, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that she sees the phenomenon as dollar strengthening rather than the Indian currency sliding. Addressing a press conference in Washington on Friday, Sitharaman said that the rupee has withstood the dollar's rise and has performed better than those of many emerging market currencies. "I won't see this as rupee sliding but as dollar strengthening. It is a matter of fact that the rupee has withstood the rise of the dollar. But it has performed better than many other emerging market currencies," she said.
By stating that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is working to prevent its slide and contain its volatility, the Finance Minister went on to say that the foreign exchange reserves are in a "comfortable position" and that inflation is also "manageable".
"Foreign exchange is good although it has come down. It is in a comfortable position. Inflation too is manageable though we would love to bring it down. We are making efforts to bring it down. However, look at other nations' inflation rates," she said, but at the same time added that the Government is "conscious of fiscal deficit".
Asked about rising trade deficit with China, Sitharaman said: "Trade deficit is actually growing across the board and more importantly, imports are more than exports. However the imports are more of intermediary goods. So we are not anxious about rising imports as they are of goods which are of value added products for exports purposes".
The Finance Minister further said that on crypto currency G20 will collate data on it from global institutions and arrive at a framework which would look at platforms facilitating crypto trade.
India is due to take over the G20 presidency next month. "We will try to understand the money trail, detect money laundering and try to bring some kind of regulation on it. There is consensus among G20 members on it as many of them have raised concerns on this," she said.
To a question on Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate's (ED) conviction rates, Sitharaman said: "ED is independent in what it does. It works on predicate offences and comes in the picture after other agencies pick up a case. There are instances which have stood out and if ED goes after them, it is with prima facie evidence."