Sunday, April 29, 2012

Be Indian, Buy Indian

Who doesn't love Dollars?

A friend of mine returned from the US, last year. I remember how he cribbed about the high prices and the expenditure he suffered in US. Before he left he had purchased dollars @ Rs.44. When he came back, the rate was Rs.42. He was quite disheartened, as there where lot of Dollars spared with him. If he sold the dollars to reclaim cash it would mean a nett loss of 9800/-.As friends, we  advised him to keep the dollars with him and encash them, when the prices went up.
This guy has recently and happily exchanged his dollars at a nett profit of Rs.53408.

Well... that was a happy story!!

But if we look at the perspective of an ordinary Indian like me, who hasn't spent a year abroad.. this is quite disheartening.

The Rupee is constantly falling. Now.. what does that mean to us and our economy?

Dollar stood at Rs.44 a year ago. That means if an Indian bought a hot dog at 2$ from US, the hot dog costed him Rs.88. Today the same hot dog costs him Rs.112.5. It also means that a US tourist coming to India, and buying a tour package for 500$, now needs to spend only $343 for the same  package.

We, in India earn in Rupees. When we purchase from abroad (Import), we squander in Dollars or other currencies.