Last week, the Indian rupee crossed 80 against the US dollar. It took the rupee to move from Rs 38 vs the dollar in July 2007 to beyond Rs 80 in July 2022 – 15 years.

According to a recent survey by LocalCircles, one in two respondents believed that in relative economic terms, India had performed poorly. Experts say it is not only the Indian rupee which has been hit as the Dollar Index has this year gained 13 percent against six major currencies – euro, pound, yen, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar and Swedish krona.

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The survey received responses from over 11,000 citizens located in over 31 districts, of which 68 percent of respondents were men while the rest were women. Forty-five per cent of respondents were from tier 1 cities, 34 percent from tier 2 cities, and 21 percent from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

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A majority of respondents expressed concern that they would be able to afford less in the next five years as higher import costs would get reflected in products they buy, right from petrol and diesel to consumer goods and services and even overseas education.

Many feared a weakening rupee would adversely impact food, medicines and overall healthcare costs go up. According to the survey report, their fear seems to have a basis as India continues to import a considerable amount of pharmaceutical products and medical devices despite having a thriving generic medicines industry and scaling up production of medical devices. Also, most of the medical equipment used in hospitals continues to be imported.

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Not just essentials, people are concerned about basic discretionary spendings like mobile phones, laptops, fashion accessories and apparel. Foreign travel is another area where 44 percent felt the weakening rupee against USD would impact them and their families.

Apart from leisure travel, the survey noted, the weakening rupee would hit students finalising plans to travel overseas to colleges they have got admission to for higher studies.

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In summary, the findings of the LocalCircles survey indicate that the massive rupee depreciation, which last week crossed Rs 80 for a US Dollar, is causing concerns on many fronts as it is expected to impact prices of several important goods and services in the coming years.

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