New Delhi [India], Sept 5 : Reacting on unprecedented fall of the Indian rupeeagainst the US dollar, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the rupee has not weakened.
In a media briefing, Jaitley said, “We must bear in mind that dollar has strengthened against almost every currency. The Rupee has either consistently strengthened or remained in a rage, not weakened. Most of the other currencies of the world, compared to what it was 4-5 yrs ago, Rupee is better off.”
“RBI (Reserve Bank of India) is certainly doing whatever is necessary. I don’t think there is any need for the world’s fastest-growing economy to come out with panic and knee-jerk reactions,” he added.
The Finance Minister also said that reasons behind the devaluation of the Indian rupeeagainst the dollar were global.
“If you look at the domestic economic situation and global situation, there are not domestic reasons attributable to this, but all reasons are global,” he said.
The Indian Rupee continued to decline further against the US dollar to reach a fresh low of Rs.71.75 against one US dollar on Wednesday. Earlier on Tuesday, the Rupee plunged 37 paise to close at Rs. 71.58 against one US dollar.
Commenting on Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) or Prime Minister’s Peoples’ Wealth Scheme, Jaitley said that it is world’s biggest financial inclusion scheme.
He informed that a total of 32.41 lakh crore accounts have been opened under PMJDY, out of which around 83 per cent of them are linked with Aadhar.
“32.41 crore accounts opened under Jan Dhan Yojana. This is the world’s biggest financial inclusion scheme. 53 per cent account holders are women, 59 per cent accounts belong to rural and semi-urban areas, 83 per cent accounts are Aadhar seeded, 24.4 crore have RuPay card,” Jaitley said.
PMJDY, a government scheme that aims to expand and make affordable access to financial services such as bank accounts, remittances, credit, insurance and pensions, was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2014.
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