India is weighing measures to curb the rupee’s fall after it hit record lows amid rising crude oil prices fuelled by the US-Iran conflict, Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, while praising citizens for responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to cut dependence on imported goods.
Addressing concerns over the widening current account deficit and the rupee’s slide, Goyal said the government was working in coordination across departments to tackle the situation.
“We are monitoring the situation. All the various arms of government are working as a team ... and several steps are under consideration. The situation is globally quite challenging,” Goyal said.
The rupee has weakened more than 6 per cent after the US-Israel war involving Iran pushed up global crude prices, intensifying pressure on India’s import bill and current account balance.
Asked whether the government was considering curbs on non-essential imports to reduce pressure on the trade deficit, Goyal said there were no such plans at present.
“No such plans of that sort right now, but we have of course made an appeal to all the citizens of India to be more conscious about their spending on products which are import dependent and it's just very natural that every Indian who trusts Prime Minister Modi has taken cognisance of that and is helping the country in every smaller big way with their own actions. I'm really proud of every Indian who has taken Prime Minister Modi's appeal to heart and is contributing to nationbuilding...” he said.
The minister also said US trade officials are expected to visit India next month to continue bilateral trade discussions.
Commenting on concerns that the ongoing West Asia crisis could delay negotiations on the proposed Gulf Cooperation Council free trade agreement, Goyal said the timeline remained unchanged.
“When we launched itself, if you recall, we had said that the first round of talks will happen in the second half of 2026. We will have it as scheduled,” he said.