Will a volatile rupee make the stock market even more volatile?

From left to right Smt. Mala Banerjee, President of FCAWB, Mr. Naren Dey, former honourable minister of Consumer Affairs, Mr. Bipul Nandi, Secretary of FCAWB and Shri Uday N Mitra, advisor to UCO Bank at the Business Standard Smart Business event held on 25^th July in Kolkata in association with Federation of Consumer Associations, West Bengal.

Business Standard Smart Business in association with Federation of Consumer Associations, West Bengal (FCAWB) held a seminar on 'Rupee volatility and its impact on stock market'.

Shri Naren Dey, former honourable minister of Consumer Affairs in West Bengal, graced the occasion as the chief guest and delivered the keynote address. Smt. Mala Banerjee, president of FCAWB, advised members of the federation to be cautious while investing their hard earned money in equities and currency markets.

Shri Uday N Mitra, advisor to UCO Bank, was one of the panelists. He said that sustained depreciation of the Indian rupee against the US dollar does not augur well for the economy and welcomed the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) steps to stem the volatility in foreign exchange rate. He said that sustained depreciation in the currency does not necessarily benefit exporters. The country's balance of trade needs to improve to prevent further depreciation in the Indian currency.

The next panelist, Shri Bidyut Paul, faculty at FCAWB, was of the view that India should try and reduce its imports and focus on increasing exports. He suggested that the country should explore opportunities in alternate fuel sources to reduce dependence on crude oil. He added that the measures taken by RBI to prevent further depreciation of the Indian rupee appear temporary and the actions are expected to be reversed as and when the economic situation improves.

The seminar was held at Netaji National Institute for Consumer Education in Chinsurah and was attended by close to 100 guests.