Here's how you can save the rupee

Eight austere measures that should help stem the currency's slide

Worried over the rupee’s sharp decline? Well, we are partly to blame, as we may have been unknowingly abating the rupee’s slide by importing all kinds of stuff. These include smart phones, videophones, LCD TVs, digital cameras, cars, razors, chocolates. More than oil and gold, it is the non-oil imports that are hurting the rupee most. Imports are not a problem if we can export more, but we don’t. India’s huge trade deficit is largely responsible for the $88 billion current account deficit that’s dragging the rupee. If you are willing to sacrifice a bit, you can stem the rupee’s further slide or can even bring it back to a level of Rs 50/USD seen last year.

# Stop buying gold: the biggest security you can give your daughter is to educate her; if you need to secure her future, invest on her behalf in tax-free bonds, yielding 8.5%-plus interest.

What the govt  needs to do:  offer other investible options like tax-free bonds to citizens round the year and invest this money to grow infrastructure, lend to private companies.

# Defer buying the second and third cars for your family. Instead, take public transport and encourage your kids to do as well. Rising oil imports is the biggest drag on the rupee. We sold 13.71 million two wheelers and 1.87 million cars last year; even if 5% of two-wheeler users were to graduate to cars that would add nearly 7 lakh cars on the country’s roads.

What the govt  needs to do:  We should use nuclear power to fuel trains, modern inter-city rail network like TGV in France that is more efficient than travelling by buses or cars. Give one-time grant to farmers to adopt solar power for pump sets and drip irrigation; link this to a crop diversification initiative that can move farmers away from water-intensive crops.

# Defer your purchase of that smart phone by a couple of years and instead settle for a basic phone made in India. In 2012-13, we imported mobile phones worth Rs 25,835 crore and videophones worth Rs 5,153 crore. These imports have aided the rupee’s fall.

# If you are a businessman or a top-notch professional, defer buying that top-end SUV or sedan that is imported till regains some lost ground. Avoid buying cars that have high import content. Last fiscal, India imported cars worth Rs 2,975 crore

# Defer buying that LCD or plasma television you have been planning, as imports of these are aiding the rupee’s fall. In 2012-13, we imported colour TVs worth Rs 3,411 crore.

# Don’t buy any dry fruits this Diwali. You may not believe this, but last year India imported cashews worth Rs 5,433 crore and almonds worth Rs 2,105 crore!

# Don’t buy Washington apples and New Zealand apples till the rupee firms up; instead settle for the Kinnauri applies. Last year, Indian imported apples worth Rs 1,152 crore.

# The list is endless: we import cosmetics and toiletries worth Rs 2,173 crore, digital cameras (Rs 1,880 crore) silk (Rs 1,700 crore), smart cards (1,439 crore) watches (Rs 1,236 crore) and booze (1,150 crore). We often don’t realise how subtle changes in our lifestyle (like buying imported apples, chocolates or razors) is contributing to the rupee’s slide.