Revive the Indian Rupee with a Swadeshi Movement!

On 14th August 1947, when the clock struck midnight, India was declared free from British Raj that had extracted the nation’s wealth – which had earned it the sobriquet of ‘sone ki chidiya’ (The Golden Sparrow) – for over a century.

A few weeks after we celebrated 66 years of Indian Independence, the dilemma which has seeped into the 89 billion neurons running in my head is – Is India Truly Enjoying its Independence?

Politically, the answer is yes. India is independent with its geographical boundaries, democratic government, secularism, etc. But, within India, numerous political, social and economic issues have piled up. One of them is the slow economic growth and weakening Indian Rupee with respect to other currencies of the world.

The question is not to demand accountability from political leaders, top bureaucrats, local bodies, government policies etc. You, I and all 1.21 billion Indians are equally responsible for the depreciation of the Indian Rupee.

Most of us Indians always fantasize about possessing imported products, which is often regarded as superior in quality to domestic products and more importantly, delivering a certain social status.

Our needs are pretty simple, aren’t they? All we want is a Serta mattress to wake up in, a bathroom with Jaguar fittings to shower in, an Emporio Armani business suit to dress up in so that we can comfortably go to the corporate office of an MNC in a luxurious new BMW 5-series car, wearing a Rolex on the left hand and carrying a Pianki briefcase in the right. Dominos pizza is ordered for lunch meetings and Starbucks coffee is preferred at High Tea meets. And when it comes to staying connected, all we need is an Apple iPad or Samsung Galaxy smartphone or a Blackberry with a Vodafone 3G internet connection plan to stay on top of the virtual world.

As a rule, we operate from the psychological assumption that the worth of a product increases automatically if it has been tagged as an ‘Imported Product’, even though its utility is the same as its domestic counterpart, thus widening the gap in trade deficit.

For a moment, take a pause and count your possessions to see how many of them are internationally branded and how many are Indian. How much have you contributed to the depreciation of the INR? Moreover, look around you and again take a quick count with the same objective. I’m sure you will get to the root cause of India’s current account deficit.

The fact is, the INR has depreciated more than 15 per cent in the last 3 months. The reason for this steady weakening is not because of improper planning and governmental policies. It is also not because of the decrease in FDIs or FIIs in investments, and the pooling out of money from the economic system. Moreover, it is also not the case of Imports over Exports. The central cause for the INR degradation is people’s preference for imported articles over locally-made ones, thus limiting the scope for national development.

This fondness for overseas products has led to the INR’s all-time low. No matter how many steps the authorities take to curb imports by raising duties, steps to implement policies for FDI/FIIs will strengthen the Rupee against foreign currency on a temporary basis, as these investments are not owned, but are owed investments, which eventually will be disinvested from the system sooner or later. The real value of the INR should be valued on the dynamics of EXIM trades.

It is expected that the rupee will further depreciate by 12-13 per cent in the short to medium-term and it’s also being said that India will take 3-4 years to recover its currency value to what it was before the depreciation. Now it is in the hands of the people of India to get the INR back to previous state within a span of 2 years.

Let us not forget what happened 66 years ago. India won its freedom under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Along with non-violence, what led India to achieve its glorious independence was the use of swadeshi products. The main objective of ruling a territory is not to dictate terms or to make people slaves. The real motivator is the wealth which that territory generates, which is then remitted back to the ruling country – known as profits in business language.

The Swadeshi movement, which entailed the use of domestic products, stopped filling the pocket of the rulers, thus weakening their interest in India as a target market. This movement played a major role in the achievement of India’s Independence.

Sixty-six years hence, India is facing a similar situation, where it is under the rule of foreign products, thus weakening the Rupee. Now it is in the hands of every Indian to contribute to the resurgence of the INR by switching from overseas to domestic products. None of these Indian products are inferior in quality, though they may look a bit less fancy.

Let us revive the Swadeshi movement which led India on the path to freedom. The contemporary use of Indian products will push the Indian market and economy forward. By boosting the overall Real GDP and creating a decrease in imports, we will enhance the value of the Rupee, thus rejuvenating India’s Independence.