The Rupee Dollar Exchange Rate -II
April 5, 2012 Leave a comment
I have long been interested in knowing more about the historic Rupee Dollar exchange rates and the story of the devaluation of the Indian Rupee.I previously posted some data I had gathered on the subject here:https://wealthymatters.com/2011/09/25/the-rupee-dollar-exchange-rate/ .This post contains some more data I came across today here http://www.mises.ca/posts/blog/are-weddings-in-india-really-driving-gold-prices/ :
In early controlled exchange rate regime, the rupee exchange rate hovered around Rs 4 in the 1950s, Rs 5 in the 60s, Rs 7 in the 70s, and Rs 8 in the 80s. The liberalized era of 90s was different, the rupee moved in the Rs 20s (the rupee was also partly decontrolled in early 90s) and Rs 40 in the decade of 2000. Read more of this post
Like him or hate him or forget him,Narasimha Rao set India on the path of economic reforms.The Urea Scam might have tainted him and his strategy of Masterly Inactivity might have earned him criticism but to give the man his due, even when India might not have been in much of a position to bargain,he ensured that reforms and growth were initiated in such a way that it didn’t raise trenchant opposition.Here’s an article about the man’s achievements from yesterday’s paper.
This article was published in today’s Mumbai Mirror.Reading it took me back to another time when India was a very different place.I was then still in school.India was anything but shining.Poverty and shortages were so much a fact of life that few of us really had an idea of how poor we were since everyone around us was in the same situation and most people had very little exposure to what was going on in the rest of the world.There was no talk of India being an emerging/emerged nation.We considered ourselves as belonging strictly to the Third World and few asked why we should not want better for ourselves.Read the article below and if you’re Indian take a minute to pat yourself on the back for how far we have come in 2 decades.Take heart from it and know that we have it in us to overcome out present problems.And remember the story so that we are never again in the same situation. 
wealthymatters 