Is India in a Currency War?
The U.S. Treasury Department placed India on its watchlist of currency manipulators in April 2021. It cited India's outsized purchase of U.S. dollars as a possible attempt at currency manipulation. India's rupee hit a record low of 1 U.S. dollar to 76.68 Indian rupees in April 2020, at the start of the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rupee has had a tumultuous history since its introduction in 1947 when the nation achieved its independence. The nation moved from a dollar peg to a floating currency in 1991 and, at the same time, devalued the currency to about 1 U.S. dollar to 25 rupees. The rupee's value remained relatively high through the first years of its remarkable economic growth but faltered during the economic crisis of 2008-2009. As of Feb. 5, 2022, it remained relatively low at 1 U.S. dollar to 74.64 rupees.