Zero depreciation in Indian rupee between 2013 and 2018: Official
New Delhi, Aug 21 : Repayment of funds, which was raised from overseas market in 2013, has been a main reason for rupee depreciation in the past few months, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Tuesday.
However, the official maintained that there has been a "zero depreciation" of the Indian currency in the last 5-years between 2013 and 2018.
"In 2013, about $32-34 billion were raised by the government that appreciated the Indian rupee," the senior official said here on Tuesday adding that "the currency exchange rate between the US dollar and the Indian rupee pair is the same in 2018 as it was in 2013."
"In the last 5-years, the Indian rupee has remained stable against all major currencies like Euro and Pound, though vis-a-vis the US dollar there has been some depreciation due to the strengthening of the USD."
"We are the only country among the emerging market economies, whose currency has maintained a stable value in the long term."
In recent days, factors such as geo-political developments, wider trade deficit, along with outflow of foreign funds have pulled the Indian rupee to fresh record intra-day and closing lows.
On august 16, the Indian rupee had plunged to an intra-day low level of 70.39-40 -- its lowest ever mark -- against the greenback prompting automobile manufacturers and other import dependent sectors to raise prices.
It settled at a record closing low of 70.16 against the US dollar on August 16.
However, easing of global trade tensions, the Indian rupee appreciated by 2 paise on Tuesday to settle at 69.81 per US dollar, from 69.83 on the previous trade session.
On the country's foreign reserves position, the official said: "We are in a comfortable position as far as the forex reserves are concerned."
Recently, the country's foreign reserves as handled by the Reserve Bank of India declined by over $1.80 billion during the week ended August 10 to $400.88 billion from $402.70 billion reported for the week ended August 3.
Analysts attributed the decline in Forex reserves to RBI's intervention to stem the decline in rupee's fall. The RBI is known to enter the markets via intermediaries to either sell or buy US dollars to keep the rupee in a stable orbit.
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Fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi, nine killed
New Delhi (PTI): At least nine people were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
"Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital," a senior police officer said.
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours.
The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, and efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
