Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asserted that the currency fluctuations have affected almost all major global economies, with the dollar index surging by 6.5% from October last year to January this year.

Sitharaman highlighted this trend while responding to concerns over the recent depreciation of the Indian rupee, which recently crossed 87 against the US dollar for the first time, as reported by Hindustan Times.

During her speech in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman cited former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who has been a critic of the Narendra Modi-led government’s economic policies. She pointed out that Rajan himself acknowledged the broader impact of the strengthening dollar on global currencies.

“Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who even participated in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, has acknowledged on Jan 15, 2025, that fixation is always with the rupee-dollar exchange rate, reality is dollar has been strengthening against many currencies including the Euro… So it is really a dollar issue,” she stated. Rajan had earlier explained that the rupee’s depreciation is relatively moderate compared to other currencies.