Rupee tracking closer to its fair value, say experts
Kolkata, Sep 15 : The Indian rupee is "tracking closer to its fair value" and the scope for further rapid depreciation appears unlikely, though the time is appropriate for policy interventions to anchor negative sentiments, experts said on Saturday.
"Currently, the rupee is tracking closer to its fair value as per our fair value computation. From here on, the scope for rapid depreciation appears unlikely," Yes Bank's Group President and Chief Economist Shubhada Rao said.
The Indian rupee on Friday closed at 71.85, recovering 34 paise from its previous close of 72.19 per greenback.
She, however, said policy interventions are required to anchor the "negative sentiments".
"The government and Reserve Bank can make policy interventions now. If it does not, the expectations get un-anchored. It is very important to anchor the expectations and time is appropriate to do it," she said on the sidelines of an event organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
According to her, there could be short term measures to contain the trade imbalance. In order to stop further depreciation of the rupee and widening of current account deficit (CAD), the government on Friday took some measures and a broad policy decision to curb non-essential imports and increase exports.
International Monetary fund (IMF) Senior Resident Representative for India, Nepal, Bhutan, Andreas W. Bauer, said as per their assessment, the real exchange rate level is "broadly in line with the fundamentals".
Citing a study prepared by the lender, Rao said the recent phase of relative depreciation has reduced the misalignment of the Indian rupee from fair value based on real effective exchange rate (REER) rebased to FY12.
Estimated overvaluation is likely to have reduced to 3.7 per cent in August from 9.9 per cent in the corresponding month last year, she said.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
