Depreciating rupee not likely to cause fiscal slippage, say experts

Petroleum, fertiliser imports to become expensive, subsidy bill set to rise

Cheaper crude oil sourced from Russia and conservative estimate of nominal GDP may secure the Centre’s finances from any significant deterioration in FY23 as a result of rupee hitting a fresh low at 80.86 against dollar on Thursday, experts said.

In principle, a depreciating rupee will make India’s petroleum and fertiliser imports expensive. Since the government provides cooking gas and fertilisers at a subsidised rate to the end consumer, it should bloat the government’s subsidy bill.

N R Bhanumurthy, Vice-Chancellor of Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics University, however, said despite depreciation in rupee, the government is not going