Treasury Secretary
One of the first India-related issues that Treasury Secretary elect Janet Yellen will have to decide on is exchange rates. Can the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) continue to tamp down on rupee’s appreciation when the US Treasury has in December this year added India to the watchlist of countries being monitored for currency manipulation? The RBI cannot stop the huge foreign exchange inflows, which make it both heavily buy US treasury papers and also forces it to be aggressive in the exchange market. By US Treasury rules, both actions mean a long stay for India on the watchlist.
India