Showing posts with label LERMS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LERMS. Show all posts

Friday, 12 December 2025

How Often Does a Falling Rupee Drag the Sensex Down? The Surprising Patterns

How Often Does a Falling Rupee Drag the Sensex Down? The Surprising Patterns 12Dec2025



 
 

(The views expressed here are for information purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation or investment advice. While the author is a CFA Charterholder with nearly 25 years of experience in financial markets, this content is intended to share general insights and does not constitute financial guidance. Please consult your financial adviser before taking any investment decision. Safe to assume the author has a vested interest in stocks / investments discussed if any.)

 

(Don't miss Timeline of Events and FRED Charts at the end of the blog)

 


 

Graph showing Dollar Rupee Exchange Rate 1973 to 2025 (St Louis Fed)

 

 

If you’ve followed financial news for any length of time, you’ve seen this movie before:

“Rupee crashes to a new low!”

"Rupee, Asia's worst currency!"

“Currency weakness threatens markets!”


Every now and then, headlines like these flash across screens and social media, instantly sparking anxiety among investors. And it’s understandable — a falling rupee feels like a sign that something big (and bad) is happening.

As someone who has followed the Indian economy and financial markets for over four decades, I’ve lived through some of the most dramatic currency moments in our history. 

I still remember the shock of the 1991 devaluation, the introduction of Liberalised Exchange Rate Management system (LERMS) soon after, the excitement and uncertainty around the unified (market determined) exchange rate in 1993, the sharp rupee wobble during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997/1998 and of course, the global tremors of the 2013 taper tantrum.

Each of these moments came with loud headlines, anxious commentary and plenty of predictions about how a falling rupee would drag the stock market into chaos.

To give a better perspective, take a look at the chart above -- a long-term US dollar-Indian rupee exchange rate (USD INR) inverse graph stretching all the way back to 1973. It climbs steadily upward for five decades. At first glance, it looks like one long story of the rupee “falling.”

And yet…

During these same decades, the Sensex has grown since the early 1980s to over 85,000 today.

Put simply, the steady and largely natural depreciation of the rupee against the dollar has not stopped Indian equities from compounding wealth over time. A big part of this long-term rupee depreciation reflects higher cumulative inflation in India compared to the US over decades, rather than something fundamentally broken in the Indian economy.  

The resulting erosion of the rupee’s purchasing power (currency debasement) — an important topic in its own right — is best examined separately from the behaviour of Indian equities. 

When someone says a weak rupee leads to falling markets, it sounds believable. But actually, what does the data say?

This data-driven blog post, using episodes of rupee fall in the past 35 years, is an attempt to find out answers. Let's delve deep. 

 

What the above long-term FRED chart shows:

1973 to 1990  Rupee was not market determined (rupee weakned gradually)

1991 to 1998 Sharp rupee devaluation in 1991 and depreciation after LERMS in 1992 and unified (market determined) exchange rate in 1993

1999 to 2007 Somewhat stable rupee with episodes of rupee appreciation

2008 to 2025 Gradual rupee depreciation, Lehman Bros collapse, Taper Tantrum and COVID-19 

 

(article continues below)

-------------------------

Related articles:

Does a Falling Rupee Hurt Indian Stocks? The Data Say "Not Really" 02Dec2025

Brief History of India's 1991 Forex Crisis and Gold Pledge 17Jun2024 

Why RBI Won't Favour a Strong Rupee? 03Jun2024

RBI Record Surplus Transfer to Government of India 23May2024

Understanding Real Sensex and Currency Debasement 14Mar2024 

Limited Direct RBI Forex Intervention to Stem Rupee Fall 13Jan2012 

 

------------------------- 

 

2 Follow-up Article

Last week, I explored this very 'rupee-fall-leads-to-market-fall' anxiety in a blog "Does a Falling Rupee Hurt Indian Stocks?" where I looked at 15 years of calendar-year data to understand whether a falling rupee generally drags Indian stocks down. The results showed no particular pattern in establishing a correlation betwen rupee weakness and Sensex movement.

But that analysis had one limitation: it used calendar-year movements, which often hide the real “shock periods” inside the year.

That’s what led to today’s follow-up. Instead of asking “How did the rupee and Indian stock market move over a whole year?”, this blog asks a sharper, more realistic question:

What actually happens when the rupee starts falling — right from the month the slide begins, until the point it peaks — and the rupee depreciation crosses 8 per cent?

In other words, this time I’m looking at actual episodes of sharp rupee weakness, not arbitrary year-end snapshots. The period may be short (one month), moderate (six months), or nearly a year — the common factor is a meaningful 8%+ rupee decline.

 

3 Historical Rupee Depreciation Episodes

India experienced 15 major rupee depreciation episodes between 1990 and 2022. These were driven by geopolitical shocks (like the 1990 Gulf War and 2008 Lehman Brothers collapse), domestic policy challenges (1991 Forex crisis, 2011 policy paralysis), global financial tightening (2013 taper tantrum), high current account deficit and COVID-19 pandemic-related pressures. 

Depreciation typically ranged from 6 per cent to 20 per cent. The largest drops occurred during the taper tantrum of 2013, the 1991 rupee devaluation, the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) and the 2011 slowdown. Sensex performance during these periods varied widely: deep crashes in some episodes, strong rallies in others and mild moves in many cases.

 

What happened between 2022 and now? 

By the way, I also looked at the most recent phase — from 2022 to Dec2025: 

Between Oct2022 and Mar2024 (about 18 months), the rupee was surprisingly stable, trading in a fairly tight range of 81 and 83.5 against the dollar. 

From March 2024 to now (around 21 months), the rupee has gradually weakened from 83.5 to about 90.5, punctuated by one bout of volatility during the Dec2024–May2025 period rather than a sudden, disorderly slide.

A bit of context helps here. During the relatively calm phase between Oct2022 and Mar2024, the RBI was an active player in the forex market, net buying nearly USD 50 billion during 18-month period (for data, check Forex Data Bank - Update 26Nov2025 with charts 144 and 145). 

These purchases helped absorb inflows and kept the rupee trading in a narrow range, even as global conditions remained volatile. In other words, the rupee’s stability during this period wasn’t accidental — it was, at least in part, policy-managed rather than purely market-driven.

Ideally, a deeper analysis would also map each episode of rupee weakness to RBI’s forex intervention strategy during that exact period — whether the central bank was intervening heavily or largely staying on the sidelines. 

That, however, is a substantial exercise in itself, requiring careful compilation of intervention and balance-of-payments data across multiple episodes. To keep this post focused and readable, I’ve stayed away from that exercise for now. It’s a natural extension of this work — and something worth exploring separately another time. 

 

Here are the charts > 

1) Chart Showing Historical Episodes of Large Rupee Depreciation Versus Dollar - From 1990 To 2000:

2) Chart Showing Historical Episodes of Large Rupee Depreciation Versus Dollar - From 2008 To 2022: 

Please click on the charts to view better >

 


 

What the above two charts reveal?

Pattern Analysis: Rupee and Sensex Relationship

Rupee depreciation does not consistently lead to stock market crashes. Several periods show the rupee weakening while the Sensex actually gained, such as in 1991, 1992, 2018 and 2022. These cases often involved strong domestic economic cycles or supportive global liquidity. 

Market expectations also matter: if depreciation is anticipated, equity markets may remain stable or even rise (as mentioned in Section 5 below, beware of caveats, like, regime changes in exchange rate system and investment flows).

However, when depreciation coincides with a global “risk-off” crisis, the Sensex tends to fall sharply. Examples include the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC), the 2020 COVID-19 shock and the 1998 Asian financial contagion. These were broad global meltdowns where emerging markets saw heavy outflows.

The duration of the depreciation varies, from less than a week (1991 staged devaluation and 1993 volatility) to several months (1990 Gulf War, 2008 crisis, 2011 slowdown, 2018 tightening, 2022 Fed interest rate increase cycle (see Update 02Nov2025 with charts 141 to 143). 

The rupee decline in 2022 also coincided with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Longer episodes usually reflect broader macro cycles rather than sudden shocks.

Another interesting pattern is that there were not many episodes of high rupee decline in the period between 1999 and 2007 -- indicating a somewhat stable rupee during the period. After 2013, India attempted to build its foreigh exchange reserves more strongly. 

With high forex reserves, RBI's tactics to defend the rupee against any excess volatility may have sharpened post 2013.

 

Comparisons Across Episodes

The biggest rupee drops occurred during: 

the 2013 taper tantrum (-20.4%), 
the 1991 devaluation (-19.6%), 
the 2008 GFC crisis (-19.0%), 
the 2011  (-18%), and 
the 1990 Gulf War (-18.1%).

The worst Sensex declines were during:

the 2008 Lehman collapse (-50.3%), 
the 2020 COVID shock (-33.1%), 
the 1998 Asian Contagion (-23.7%),
the 2000 Dotcom Bubble Burst (-18.9%), and 
the 2011 Policy "paralysis" (-13.4%).

A key observation is that these two sets do not perfectly align. Large rupee depreciation does not necessarily produce an equity market crash; only when a global systemic crisis is involved do both fall sharply.  

Rupee weakness raises import costs and inflation risk, which can pressure markets. It also creates FPI flows uncertainty, though exporters may benefit, making the overall impact mixed. So, the narrative resonates strongly with several investors -- creating noise around "historically low rupee."

However, a sudden rupee fall could hurt the real economy in different ways, even if the Sensex doesn’t always react sharply:

A sharp rupee fall makes imports—especially crude oil, gas and fertilisers more expensive, pushing up inflation and pressuring household budgets.

Companies with unhedged foreign-currency borrowings may be negatively impacted.

Higher import bills widen the current account deficit (CAD), while fuel and fertiliser subsidies can increase the fiscal burden on the government.

Sudden currency instability raises uncertainty, prompting firms to delay capex decisions and making foreign investors more cautious about long-term commitments.

A sharp rupee fall can force the RBI to choose between supporting growth and controlling inflation—sometimes tightening liquidity or rates to steady the economic ship.  

 

Rupee Falls Sharply but Sensex Rises! 

There are a few instances when Sensex rose dramatically, despite sharp fall in rupee. The instances are:

Gulf War aftermath: Aug1990-Jun1991: Rupee depreciated by 18.1 per cent, but Sensex gained 10.3 per cent. 

During Aug 1990–Jun 1991, the rupee fell sharply because of the Gulf War and the balance-of-payments (BoP) crisis, yet the Sensex still rose. A key reason was the political transition in 1991, when a new government under PV Narasimha Rao took office with Manmohan Singh as finance minister. 

Markets expected major reforms, stabilisation and opening up of the economy.

So even though the currency was under pressure, the Sensex gained because investors were looking past the crisis and pricing in policy changes, reform momentum and long-term growth prospects triggered by the 1991 government shift and its push for radical economic reforms.


Feb1992-Mar1992: Harsha Mehta Boom: Sensex roared 52.7 per cent, even as rupee fell by 11.4 per cent. 

The Sensex rallied strongly because a massive liquidity-driven stock market boom was underway, fuelled by the Harshad Mehta Securities Scam. This bull run was so powerful that it overpowered any negative sentiment from the rupee fall.

Markets were rising on speculation, leverage and unusually high risk appetite—so the currency move didn’t matter. 

Lost decade: Interestingly, after the Harshad Mehta speculative boom inevitably collapsed, the Sensex remained stagnant for nearly a decade until 2003, a period often dubbed the "Lost Decade" for Indian equities.

 

As shown above, when rupee falls sharply:

Sometimes Sensex drops.
Sometimes Sensex rises.
Sometimes it barely reacts. 

So, when some expert tells you rupee depreciation is a harbinger of Indian stock market rout, don't believe them without checking the hard data. 😁 

 

4 Fred Charts 

Charts are often more intuitive for many investors, so the following visuals are included to show the extent of rupee depreciation using an inverse USD-INR graph. These charts are from St Louis Fed.

A. May2013 to Aug2013 Taper Tantrum: Rupee falls 20.4% (Sensex loses 11%) >

Between May2013 and Aug2013, the US Fed's taper tantrum triggered a sudden reversal of global liquidity as the Fed signalled an end to quantitative easing (QE). This led to sharp FPI outflows from India and other emerging markets

The resulting dollar shortage, wide current account deficit and loss of investor confidence combined to push the rupee down sharply. 

That the Fed later slowed down and clarified the tapering plan (calming the markets and stabilising the currencies) is a different matter.  


 

B. Jul1991 Rupee Devaluation in two stages: Rupee falls 19.6% (but Sensex gains 3.4%) >

On 01Jul1991 and 03Jul1991, Govt of India / RBI devalued the rupee versus the dollar, by 9 per cent and 11 per cent respectively. 

The Jul1991 rupee devaluation was forced by a severe balance-of-payments (BoP) crisis, with forex reserves down to just a few weeks of import cover. The Gulf War shock, rising oil prices and a collapse in external financing sharply reduced dollar inflows and investor confidence. 

An overvalued, administratively managed rupee had also hurt exports, making a two-stage devaluation unavoidable to restore competitiveness. 

 

C. May2008-Aug2008 Lehman Bros Collapse: Rupee Falls 19% (Sensex plummets 50.3%) >

The 2008 rupee collapse was triggered by the global financial crisis (GFC) and Lehman Brothers Collapse, which sparked massive risk-off sentiment and capital flight from emerging markets to the US. Foreign portfolio investors pulled out funds from Indian equities and debt, creating a sudden shortage of dollars. 

At the same time, rising oil and commodity prices widened the current account deficit, intensifying pressure on the currency.


(Note: in case you want to see more Fred charts, see the end of the article)

 

Caveats, Shortcomings and Additional Nuances

Even though the episode-based, data-driven approach offers a much sharper picture than simple calendar-year averages, it still comes with some limitations that readers should keep in mind:


a. The Sensex reflects only 30 stocks

While the Sensex often captures the direction of the market, its reaction to currency swings may differ from the broader indices, mid-caps or small-caps. Sectors heavily exposed to imports or exports may react far more strongly than the headline index. 

Analysis of sectoral indices is outside the scope of this informal and educative piece. IT Services, export-oriented automakers and pharma usually benefit from INR fall, but import-heavy sectors, like, airlines, oil market companies (OMCs) and electronics firms may react negatively to rupee depreciation.  

b. Currency movements reflect many forces, not just domestic factors

A sharp fall in the rupee may be due to global dollar strength, US monetary policy changes, geopolitical risk or weak capital flows — not necessarily India-specific stress. So the “INR fall leads to Indian stocks fall” logic doesn’t always hold.

c. Stocks and the rupee don’t always move at the same time

Currency markets and equity markets have different participants and different drivers. In several episodes, stocks may have fallen before the rupee weakened (anticipating risk), recovered while the rupee was still falling, or moved independently due to domestic policy reforms, earnings cycles or global liquidity. This time mismatch is an unavoidable challenge when defining “episodes.”

d. Results depend on the chosen time window


By design, the analysis identifies sharp falls of 8%+ over one to twelve months. But had we chosen 6 per cent, or 12 per cent, or used 2–18 month windows, the list of episodes — and some of the conclusions — might differ. 

e. Sensex returns can look very different depending on the measurement point

Even within the same episode, the Sensex may have dipped sharply mid-way, recovered before the rupee stabilised, or rallied despite currency volatility. Charts often smooth out this noise, so the lived experience may feel more volatile. 

f. Correlation does not imply causation

Even if the Sensex falls during an episode of rupee depreciation, that doesn’t prove the rupee fall caused the market decline. Many a time both are responding to the same macro stress — global risk-off, Fed tightening, crude oil price spikes and others. 

g. Recovery periods vary widely

Different INR-fall episodes have different recovery durations. A 10-per-cent depreciating spell may reverse in a few weeks in one era, and take a year in another — making comparisons tricky.

h. Regime change in exchange rate system

Another important limitation is that the exchange-rate regime itself has changed over time. Before 1993, the rupee was not market-determined — it moved under administrative controls, dual rates (LERMS) and one-off devaluations, making pre-1993 movements fundamentally different from today’s market-driven currency behaviour. 

After the 1993 unified exchange rate, the INR began responding much more to global flows, sentiment and domestic fundamentals, which means older episodes are not strictly comparable with post-1993 data. 

Curiously, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently dubbed India's exchange rate arrangement as "crawl-like."

i. Regime change in investment flows

Post-2016, the Sensex has become more responsive to domestic institutional investor (DII) flows (buttressed by EPFO Investments) than to foreign portfolio investor (FPI) flows. 

This means that even during periods of sharp INR depreciation driven by FPI outflows, strong DII buying has often cushioned the market, weakening the traditional link between rupee weakness and Sensex declines.


j. RBI forex intervention

A further complication is Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) intervention policy: sometimes the central bank intervenes heavily in the forex market and sometimes it allows the rupee to adjust freely, making it difficult to interpret how “natural” or policy-altered each rupee fall truly was.

 

6 Overall Insights and Takeaways

Rupee depreciation alone is a poor predictor of Indian equity market performance. Markets react negatively only when depreciation signals broader global distress and geopolitical risks. In many episodes, equities have stayed strong despite currency weakness. 

Export-oriented sectors usually benefit from a weaker rupee, while import-heavy sectors suffer.

India has survived several depreciation cycles and has strengthened structurally over time thanks to higher (somewhat excess) forex reserves, manageable external debt metrics and a stronger banking system. This implies future depreciation episodes are more likely to be gradual than sudden.

However, a few weak points from investment flows perspective is the continuous FPI selling of Indian equities in recent years (though they are buyers in debt segment) and the tumbling foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into India.  

 

7 Investment Implications? 

A key takeaway for Indian investors is that a falling rupee does not automatically signal trouble for the entire stock market. Instead of reacting to currency headlines, investors should focus on portfolio diversification and sector / market capitalisation exposure, because exporters may gain while import-heavy sectors may temporarily struggle. 

Exchange rate volatility also reinforces the importance of asset diversification—across equities, debt, gold and even global assets where appropriate. Since the Sensex often responds more to fundamentals / earnings, liquidity and sentiment than to currency moves alone, long-term investors are usually better off staying disciplined rather than making knee-jerk exits. 

Most importantly, understanding the historical patterns of INR-fall episodes can help investors avoid panic, stay patient and position portfolios more thoughtfully during periods of currency stress. Finally, monitoring global cues, such as US Federal Reserve actions, geopolitical risks or crude oil prices, is crucial for making informed investment decisions. 

Indian investors are anxiously waiting for India to clinch a win-win trade deal with the US.  

 

- - - 

 

 

 

----------------

Additional Fred Charts:

FRED Charts (from St Louis Fed) showing various episodes, between 1990 and 2022, of Sharp Rupee Fall >






 




 

----------------

Timeline of Events: 1949 to 2022:

19Sep1949: Rupee devaluation  by 30.5% as a defensive measure consequent to the devaluation by other 'sterling area' countries (in those days, Rupee was pegged to British Pound Sterling) -- India' PM was Jawaharlal Nehru and RBI governor was Benegal Rama Rau

 

24Jan1966: Indira Gandhi, for the first time, became India's prime minister

06Jun1966: Rupee devaluation from 4.76 to 7.50 to the dollar, means rupee devalued by 36.5% vs dollar --  Indira Gandhi was India's PM and PC Bhattacharya was RBI governor

 

1989 to 1991: India had seen four prime ministers 

1990 to 1991: India's Forex Crisis / Balance of Payments Crisis

Aug1990: Gulf War broke out with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invading Kuwait

Nov1990: Chandra Shekhar formed the Central government with Congress (I) party’s outside support

Mar1991: Chandra Shekhar resigned as prime minister and his government became a caretaker government (after Rajiv Gandhi's Congress (I) govt withdrew support)

21Jun1991: PV Narasimha Rao of Congress (I) took over as India’s prime minister  

01Jul1991: Rupee devaluation by 9% -- India government headed by PM Narashimha Rao and FM Manmohan Singh) and RBI Governor S Venkitaramanan)

03Jul1991: Rupee devaluation again, this time by 11% (the total two-stage devaluation amounted to 19%)-- India government (PM Narashimha Rao and FM Manmohan Singh) and RBI (Governor S Venkitaramanan)

 

01Mar1992: LERMS (Liberalised Exchange Rate Management System) - a dual exchange rate system for dollar-rupee - was introduced by RBI

1992: India's Forex crisis blows over 

27Feb1993: Unified exchange rate system (a market-determined dollar-rupee exchange rate system), replacing LERMS, was introduced by RBI  


Jul1997: Thailand floats the Thai Baht after months of speculative attacks and depleting forex reserves (start of 1997/1998 
Asian Financial Contagion)

Aug1997: Indonesia floats the Rupiah, allowing Rupiah's free fall (financial panic in Asia) 
(spread of 1997/1998 Asian Financial Contagion)

23Oct1997: Hong Kong stocks plummet by 10% after HK raises interest rates sharply to defend HK dollar's peg against the dollar (this triggered a global financial shock) (
Asian Financial Contagion)

Nov1997: South Korea requests IMF aid (IMF later grants USD 57 billion) 
Asian Financial Contagion)

Nov1997 and Dec1997: Asian Financial Contagion negatively impacted India; with INR losing 7.7% vs USD 

May1998: Indonesia president Suharto resigns after mass protests (following currency collapse, supply chain disruption and price rises), elite defection and loss of military support 
(peak of Asian Financial Contagion)

 

11May1998: India conducts three nuclear tests

13May1998: India conducts two additional nuclear tests

May-Aug1998: INR depreciated by 8.6% during the period; after India conducted five nuclear tests in May1998 triggering Western sanctions on India 

 

Mar2000: start of Dotcom bubble burst; tech stocks on Nasdaq crash

Mar2000: the tech market crash triggers capital outflows from emerging markets

May2000: FPI equity selling leads to INR weakness and higher oil import bill and Sensex fall  

Jul2000: INR weakness, Sensex fall and FPI outflows continue  

May-Oct2000: gradual rupee depreciation of 6.8%

 

Jan–Mar2008: Global financial markets show stress after US subprime crisis intensifies in 2007

16Mar2008: Bear Stearns was “saved” through a government-brokered acquisition; JP Morgan Chase acquires Bear Stearns in a bailout

Mar2008: The US government, led by president George Bush Jr, created a moral hazard by bailing out Bear Stearns -- financial markets assumed the US government would step in to stem any financial crisis or bank collapse in the future. [The assumption allowed the financial markets to remain complacent about subprime crisis, mortgage crisis (relating or mortgage-backed securities or MBS, Collateralised Debt Obligations or CDOs and Credit Default Swap or CDS) and other financial vulnerabilities. The markets were utterly shocked when the US gov't decided not to intervene when Lehman Borthers collapsed in Sep2008].

May2008: Crude oil prices peak (USD 140/barrel) leading to increases in India’s import bill, widening Trade deficit and weaker rupee

Aug2008: US mortgage crisis spreads to banks globally, bearish sentiment worldwide

Sep2008: flight to safety (dollar demand), with money moving to the US

15Sep2008: Lehman Brothers in the US declares bankruptcy, sending shock waves across the world and ultimately leading to Global Financial Crisis (GFC)

Sep-Oct2008: massive FPI outflows from India; heavy Sensex crash; INR fall

May-Oct2008: rupee depreciates by 19% (due to events described above) 

 

Aud-Sep2011: Indian rupee falls pressured by Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis, shortage of dollars globally (safe have demand for dollar) despite S&P debt downgrade of the US; FPI outflows from India; Sensex falls; growing current account deficit in India; 

Oct2011: Strong Dollar gain pressures rupee and other emerging markets currencies

Jul-Nov2011: US dollar gains by 10% (US dollar index) putting pressure in rupee

Apr-Aug2011: There was absolutely no RBI Forex intervention  

Sep-Nov2011: RBI Forex Intervention: RBI intervenes heavily in Forex market to defend rupee by selling US dollars worth USD 4.7 billion during Sep-Nov2011

 

Feb-Jun2012: INR falls by 14.2%; due to concerns over weak global growth, US / Eurozone stagnation, India's widening current account deficit, FPI outflows from India, India's rising inflation and policy uncertainty from UPA gov't 

 

22May2013: Fed chair Ben Bernanke avers that the Fed is prepared to reduce its purchase of mortgage securities gradually (markets dub this as 'Taper Tantrum') 

Jun2013: FPI outflows from India; INR weakens and rising current account deficit concerns

Jul2013: Inflationary pressures in India exacerbated by INR fall; and global risk aversion

May-Aug2013: INR plummets by 20.4% (events described above)

 

Apr-Oct2018: Rupee depreciates by 12.6% due to US dollar index surging; US interest rate hikes, rising crude oil prices; FPI outflows from India; and widening India's current account deficit 

 

24Feb2022: Russia invades Ukraine triggering massive rise in commodity prices, including, crude oil and agri commodities stoking inflationary pressures globally 

Jan-Jun2022: Aggressive selling of Indian stocks by FPIs amounting to Rs 2.17 lakh crore 

Jan-Jun2022: Steep rise in US 10 year bond yield by almost 200 basis points 

Feb-Oct2022: aggressive Fed funds rate hikes (rate hikes continued till Aug2023) following surging US CPI inflation between Feb2021 and Jun2022) 

Feb-Oct2022: RBI Forex intervention in the 9-month period amounted to net USD sales of USD 53.7 billion resulting in depletion of forex reserves; despite RBI management, rupee lost 9.5% 

Feb-Oct2022: Rupee falls by 9.5% (events described above) 

 

 

----------------

References:

St Louis Fed: Dollar Rupee exchange rate - FRED charts 

RBI HistoryChronology of Events: From 1926 to 2003

RBIcrisis and reforms 1991 to 2000 - chronology of events - Indian rupee devaluation in 1991 / LERMS / unified exchange rate

RBIpress release 27Feb1993 – Unified exchange rate from LERMS

----------------

  
Read more:
 
Blog of Blogs Theme-wise 
 
Weblinks and Investing
 
India Fixed Income Data Bank
 
Indian Economy Data Bank 

India Forex Data Bank 
 
Corporate Groups and Listed Companies 29Dec2024
 
Corporate Governance Concerns - Indian Companies 13Dec2024
 
Stocks and Peer Comparison by Industry 16Feb2024  
 
various uploads on Scribd by VRK100  
 
 
NSE's Backtesting Claims Child Indices Beat Parent Indices - But Does It Hold in Real World? 09Dec2025 
 
India's Dangerous Drift Toward Market Concentration and Corporate Power 07Dec2025
 
Does a Falling Rupee Hurt Indian Stocks? The Data Say "Not Really" 02Dec2025
 
Investing for Real People: Thumb Rules, Long-Term Thinking and Practical Wisdom 27Nov2025
 
Factor Investing in India: Do "Smart Beta" Indices Outsmart Nifty 50 and Midcap 150? 24Nov2025
 
Redefining Ownership: 12 New Indian Companies Join Zero Promoter Holding List Since 2023 09Dec2025
 
India's External Debt Metrics: Quiet Strength Beneath the Surface 06Oct2025 

Goodbye MIBOR, Hello SORR: Understanding RBI's New Interest Rate Benchmark 04Oct2025

Jane Goodall: What Separates Us From Chimpanzees 02Oct2025 

The Building Blocks of India's Money Market: Key Segments You Should Know 30Sep2025 

-------------------
 
Disclosure:  I've got a vested interest in Indian stocks and other investments. It's safe to assume I've interest in the financial instruments / products discussed, if any.
 
Disclaimer: The analysis and opinion provided here are only for information purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. Investors should consult their own financial advisers before making any investments. The author is a CFA Charterholder with a vested interest in financial markets.

------------------------ 

CFA 10 Year Milestone Professional Learning Program 2025 Certificate of Achievement 



 

CFA Charter credentials  - CFA Member Profile

CFA New Badge 

CFA Badge  

Wednesday, 15 November 2023

India Per Capita Income in Dollars - vrk100 - 15Nov2023

India Per Capita Income in Dollars

 
 
 
 

 (This is for information purposes only. This should not be construed as a recommendation or investment advice even though the author is a CFA Charterholder. Please consult your financial adviser before taking any investment decision. Safe to assume the author has a vested interest in stocks / investments discussed if any.)   
 
 
(All the updates, effective Jul2024, on per capita income in US dollars, are available in Indian Economy Data Bank)
 
 
According to World Bank data for 2022, India is the fifth largest economy in the world by gross domestic product (GDP). But in terms of per capita income, it is at around 140th rank, indicating India is at the bottom of the pile on a per capita basis. 
 
Per capita income is calculated by dividing a nation's population by its total national income.
 
India became world’s most populous nation this year, surpassing China. Our population is considered as our strength. But in terms of income inequality, it can be described as our weakness because India’s potential does not get reflected when one compares indicators based on per capita income.
 
 
1. India per capita income
 
India’s per capita gross national income in 2022 is 2,380 US dollars. Gross national income (GNI) is the income earned by a nation’s residents irrespective of where it is earned. It can be calculated by adding income from foreign countries to country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
 
Comparatively, the world’s average per capita income is USD 12,804 in 2022. So, India's per capita income is less than 20 percent of world's. The data are from World Bank’s World Development Indicators updated as on 26Oct2023.
 
Though India is world’s fifth largest economy, its per capita income gets depressed due to its population. Indian rupee’s depreciation against the US dollar also depresses India’s per capita income expressed in US dollars.
 
The official data used here is per capita GNI or gross national income. But the term ‘per capita income’ will be used here for simplicity.

 

Table 1: India per capita income since 2000:



As show in table 1 above, India’s per capita income in US dollars increased from USD 440 in 2000 to USD 2,380 in 2022, with an absolute growth of 441 percent and an annualised growth rate of 7.98 percent – which is quite impressive in a period of 22 years.
 
From the table 1, one could observe the fastest growing years for India after 2000 are 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2009 and 2006 with a year-on-year growth of 17.6, 16.7, 16.7, 12.4, 12.1 and 11.4 percent respectively. 
 
The growth of 13.2 percent in 2021 is an anomaly because 2020 saw a severe decline of 8.7 percent in per capita income in dollars due to draconian COVID-19 lockdowns imposed by the Indian federal government.
 
 
(blog continues below)
------------------------------
 
Related blogs:
 
Slowest growth in India's real per capita income

Why is India Falling Behind Bangladesh?

India Second Quarter GDP 30Nov2021
 
------------------------------
2. India per capita income growth in five-year intervals
 
To normalise for year-on-year differences, let us see how the growth occurred over a period of five-year intervals from 1962 to 2022. The World Bank data for India’s per capita income are available from 1962 onward.
 
Table 2: India per capita growth 1962 to 2022 (5-year intervals):

 


As shown in Table 2, the fastest growth periods, in five-year intervals, in per capita income in dollars are: 2002 to 2007 with an absolute growth of 97.8 percent in five years; 2007 to 2012 with an absolute growth of 61.5 percent and 1972 to 1977 with an absolute growth of 58.3 percent.
 
Incidentally, Manmohan Singh is India’s prime minister between 2004 and 2014 and Indira Gandhi was the country’s prime minister between 1972 to 1977 (for most of the time).
 
Between 1987 and 1992, India's per capita income declined by 2.9 percent due to a combination of listless economic growth and devaluation and depreciation of Indian rupee against the US dollar.
 
But in the past 10 years, the 5-year absolute growth rates are low compared to 2002-2012 periods. Between 2012 and 2017, India's per capita income grew by just 22.4 percent (total five years) and it improved to 32.2 percent (total five years) between 2017 and  2022.

Indian rupee devaluation:
 
The numbers after 1991 are not strictly comparable with those before 1991, because there was a regime change in 1991 not only for India’s dollar-rupee exchange rate but also for the entire Indian economy. 
 
Indian rupee was devalued in two stages in 1991 with a cumulative devaluation of 18 percent in US dollar terms. Dollar - rupee exchange rate was not market-determined before 1991.
 
Since 01Mar1992, Reserve Bank of India, India’s central bank, introduced a dual exchange rate system called Liberalised Exchange Rate Management System (LERMS). It was replaced by a unified exchange rate system on 27Feb1993 to make the exchange rate market-determined. 
 
India's current exchange rate system is not full float, but often dubbed as 'managed float.'
 
 
3. Comparison with comparable countries
 
Most of the things in life are relative. Let us examine how India stacks up in the world in terms of per capita income.
 
Comparable countries, like, BRICS, G20 and others are included in table 3 below to see how India performs. As per World Bank’s 2022 data about per capita GNI of October 2023, India is a lower middle income country. 
 
Table 3: Comparison with comparable nations:

         
The World Bank categorised India as a lower middle income country. As can be seen from table 3 above, India’s per capita income is the lowest not only among the G20 but also among BRICS countries.
 
It may not advisable to compare a lower middle income nation with high income nations, but even among lower middle income countries, India's income per head is lower than that of Bangladesh, Egypt and Vietnam.
 
The per capita incomes of other BRICS nations, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa are much higher than that of India (table 3 above). 
 
Among upper middle income category, Malayasia, Libya, Colombia, Botswana and Iraq have per capita incomes far higher than that of India. 
 
Countries, like, Kenya, Nigeria, Nicaragua and Burma (all lower middle income nations) have incomes lower than that of India, as per World Bank's 2022 data.
 
 
4. Summary
 
India may be the world's fifth largest economy but its ranking in per capita income is quite low -- even lower among comparable countries, like, Bangladesh, Egypt, Vietnam, South Africa and Russia.
 
In 2022, India's per capita income is USD 2,380, which is much lower than the world average of USD 12,804.
 
The current narrative is crossing the USD-2,000 per capita income threshold is a turning point for countries in the past and the same can be extrapolated to India. India surpassed this threshold once in 2019 and again in 2021 – after having down below the level in 2020.
 
The expectation has gained ground in recent years so that India can leapfrog to USD 5 trillion. To put it mildly, this is a narrative propagated by some people to suit their interests.
 
When it comes to growth in per capita income and overall economic growth, the record of current Indian federal government is quite tepid, despite the hype and propaganda.
 
This is not an attempt to analyse India’s prospects on a single metric like per capita income but to put things in the perspective and throw some light on the income disparity that has been bedeviling the country for several years.
 
The income inequality has worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak, with economists and experts talking of a K-shaped recovery in the country in the past three years. 
 
Hundreds of millions of Indians are still in poverty – this is buttressed by the fact that the Indian federal government recently decided to extend its free food grains programme to more than 800 million Indians by a period of five years.
 
It is fair to argue per capita GNI PPP is more relevant from India's viewpoint (we can discuss this another time in more detail) than per capita GNI merely. GNI PPP is GNI based on purchasing power parity, which adjusts for the purchasing power relatively.
 
For example, India’s per capita income may be low, but the purchasing power of Rs 100 is much higher in India compared to say, in the United States. To put differently, an average meal may be available for just Rs 100 in India; the same meal may cost more than Rs 400 or Rs 450 in the US.
 
It is hoped governments in India will make sincere efforts to economically lift millions of Indians still languishing in poverty and bring down the income equality in a meaningful way in the next decade.

 

- - -

------------------------------
 
P.S. dated 29Nov2023:  Food security:
 
PIB press release dated 29Nov2023:  Free Foodgrains for 81.35 crore beneficiaries for five years: Cabinet Decision

Historic decision for Food and Nutrition Security : Centre to spend approximately Rs. 11.80 lakh crore in the next 5 years on food subsidy under PMGKAY
 

------------------------------
 
References:
 
World Bank World Development Indicators (updated 26Oct2023)

World Bank India per capita GNI (chart available)
 
RBIcrisis and reforms 1991 to 2000 - chronology of events - Indian rupee devaluation in 1991 / LERMS / unified exchange rate
 
RBIpress release 27Feb1993 – Unified exchange rate from LERMS
 
PIBcircular 15Nov2023 - India providing food grains

Macrotrends India per capita GNI (graph available) (India's historical data for every year is available from 1962 to 2022; and so is data about comparable countries' per capita GNI)
 
Additional Data:
 
India per capita GNI (in current US dollars) - starting from 1965 to 2020 in five-year intervals to compare how that data stands over five-year intervals:

 
 
G20 – Group of 20 countries
 

 
BRICS – group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
 
------------------------------
 
Read more:
 
Blog of Blogs Theme-wise 
 
RBI Annual Report and HBIE  - Data Tables
 
India Foreign Exchanges Reserves Comfortable 
 
Analysis of Small Savings Schemes and Interest Rates

 
India Debuts 50-year Sovereign Bond

India: Prospects and Challenges
 
India Public Debt and Floating Rate Bonds
  
India Equity ETFs Worth Considering

JP Morgan Guide to Markets Sep2023 
 
Mutual Fund Asset Class Returns 30Sep2023
 
Divergence in Volatile Global Bond Yields 
 
India's Crude Oil Import Dependency Jumps under Modi
 
Buyback Offers and Weblinks
 
Negative Impact of Debt Mutual Fund Tax Changes

Weblinks and Investing

-------------------

Disclosure:  I've vested interested in Indian stocks and other investments. It's safe to assume I've interest in the financial instruments / products discussed, if any.

Disclaimer: The analysis and opinion provided here are only for information purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. Investors should consult their own financial advisers before making any investments. The author is a CFA Charterholder with a vested interest in financial markets. 

CFA Charter credentials  - CFA Member Profile

CFA Badge

 

He blogs at:

https://ramakrishnavadlamudi.blogspot.com/

https://www.scribd.com/vrk100

X (Twitter) @vrk100