A century achievement.

Yesterday, "The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to cut the repo rate by 25 bps (basis points) to 6.25% and maintain the policy stance at neutral." The MPC lowered its growth forecast to 6.4% from 6.6% for last year and projected 6.7% growth for 2025-26. Mint. The government has mandated the RBI to maintain the CPI inflation at 4% with a margin of 2% on either side till 2026. ET. "Year-on-year inflation rate based on All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of December 2024 over December 2023 is 5.22% (Provisional)." mospi.gov.in. Why has the RBI blatantly ignored inflation way above its mandate? Probably because, "Though originally privately owned, since nationalisation in 1949, the Reserve Bank is fully owned by the Government of India." rbi.org.in. So, is it just following orders? "The rate-setting committee maintained its inflation forecast at 4.8% for this financial year, easing to 4.2% next year." In January, "The US dollar was firmer against major currencies... after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged," as "Fed officials made a unanimous decision to keep the overnight interest rate in the current 4.25%-4.50% range,..as they await further inflation and jobs data and clarity on the impact of President Donald Trump's policies." Reuters. The Indian rupee ended yesterday 0.2% up at 87.4250 against the US dollar. But, "It declined by nearly 1% on the week, its worst weekly performance since December 2022." BS. The dollar is trading at Rs 87.5925 this morning. ET. On 16 May 2014, Mr Modi won his first term as prime minister. wikipedia. On 15 May 2014, one US dollar was equal to Rs 54.73. Thomas Cook. Taking the dollar/rupee exchange rates on 15 May 2014 and today, the rupee has depreciated by 60% against the US dollar. Thanks to Mr Modi. A collapsing rupee makes imports more expensive, which explains why CPI inflation has been so high (rateinflation.com) during Mr Modi's tenure, except for 2016-2019 when GDP growth fell precipitously (Forbes) because of the disastrous devaluation of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 banknotes without any warning on 08 November 2016 (wikipedia). Indian origin tech investor in the US Debarghya Das said, "USD-INR has nearly doubled in 14 yrs, at ~ 5% a year. In Dec 2027, it'll hit 100." ET. The dollar is strong because of "a strong US economy and anticipation of higher inflation and eventually lower interest rate cuts in the US." Foreign institutional investors (FII) "pulled $8.4 billion out of the equity market in January," because "High US Treasury yields and a booming US stock market have also reduced the risk-return appeal of Indian stocks." "The outlook for the rupee remains bleak and hinges on future tariff moves by Trump," wrote Abhinaba Saha. The US Fed is independent. The RBI has to produce a mirage of growth to help Mr Modi win elections. A century for the rupee? An achievement for Mr Modi.