RSS economic wing bats for stronger rupee, contrary to Arvind Panagariya prescription

The debate raging over whether or not the rupee should be bolstered by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gained another perspective, with the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) weighing in. The economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) said on Friday (May 22, 2026) that the Indian currency should be supported, and not allowed to hit the ₹100 per dollar mark.

On Thursday (May 22, 2026), Arvind Panagariya, the chairperson of the 16th Finance Commission and former chief of the Niti Aayog, had posted on X, saying that the RBI should allow the rupee to slide even over ₹100 per dollar. That figure “was just a number”, he said.

Ashwani Mahajan, the co-convenor of the SJM, however, holds a different view. Replying to Mr. Panagariya’s X post, Mr. Mahajan said that the further depreciation of the rupee would hit India’s standing in the world and its position in the global GDP rankings. Indian industry must be protected through other means, he added.

Domestic industry needs protection’

“For the structural weakness of the rupee, bandaid solutions will not work. Aatmanirbharta [self sufficiency] is the answer to this,” he said. “We need to protect our industry, not because they are inefficient, but because foreigners (China), are dumping their products, because there is a higher cost in our country because of electricity costs being high in India compared to competitors. There are various cesses and logistic costs that are higher over which our domestic industry has no control. People who have been sitting at the top policy making offices do not understand this simple logic and have been issuing a death warrant to our industry for being inefficient,” he said.

The import of foreign goods that directly impacts the current account deficit, Mr. Mahajan reasoned, is not just because of domestic industry being inefficient but because countries like China can produce cheaper goods. Any import substitution will have to account for structural issues within the country for the domestic industry, he said, adding that, therefore, the devaluation of the currency is not the only way to lift exports and consequently dollar inflows.

For many in the Sangh Parivar, the strength of the rupee against the dollar is also a psychological issue, with the BJP having campaigned on the issue before. The logic of currency devaluation seems to have washed up against the political sentiment of the ₹100 per dollar figure and what it means for perceptions about the economy.