File photo of Union Minister Piyush Goyal. (Image: PTI)

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Updated on: October 5, 2018, 5:29 PM IST

October 5, 2018, 5:29 PM IST FOLLOW US ON: Facebook Twitter Instagram

New Delhi: As the Indian rupee dipped further on Friday, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal said this is the best period for the Indian rupee in the last 15 years.

"Rupee has only depreciated 7 percent in the last 5 years. This is the best period for the Indian rupee. It's a golden run," said Goyal while speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.


The rupee has been depreciating since March this year. However, at the end of August, currencies such as Russian Ruble, Japanese Yen, the South Africa's Rand and the Mexican Peso have all had double digit depreciation against the US Dollar.

Rupee slumped to a lifetime low of Rs 74 against the US Dollar on Friday.


The senior BJP leader said that the nature of jobs in India is changing and that only government jobs could not provide growth.

"Nature of jobs in the world is changing. Everybody wanted to join railways, government before but now entrepreneurial ideas are coming up," added Goyal.


"If you are driving an Uber in Delhi, you are providing a service. This government is encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation," said Goyal.

Piyush Goyal added that he wanted to revive the charm of the Railways.

"It’s been 366 days since I took over as Railways minister. I have had one mantra - To bring the charm back to rail travel", said Goyal.

RBI governor Urjit Patel also said on Friday the domestic currency is still better than its emerging market peers and that the apex bank does not have a target for it.

Patel, while addressing the media after the customary post-policy press conference, admitted that the country has not been immune to global spillovers from external factors.

"The rupee fall, in some respect, is moderate in comparison to several other emerging market market peers," he said.

Patel ruled out a target for the currency and said, "Our response to these unsettled conditions has been to ensure that foreign exchange market remains liquid with no undue volatility. There is no target or band around any particular level of exchange rate, which is determined by market forces demand and supply."