Currency swap: India, Japan in pact for RS.75-bn

Tokyo

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the swap arrangement was 50 pc higher than the previous such agreement between the two countries.“This bilateral swap reflects depth of our deeper economic relationship,” he said in a tweet. Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg added the $75-bn agreement was one of the largest swap arrangements in the world. The decision to conclude the arrangement was taken during PM’s visit to Japan. Various steps were taken to address the issue of outward flow of foreign capital due to the gradual increase in policy interest rate in the US, and this decision was another such measure to boost confidence in the Indian market.

“This facility will not only enable the agreed amount of capital being available to India on tap for use, it would also help in bringing down the cost of capital for Indian entities while accessing foreign capital market,” a Finance Ministry statement said, adding it was another milestone in mutual cooperation the two nations.

“This swap arrangement reflects the depth of mutual trust, personal relationship and warmth between the two leaders built over many years,” it added. It said with this in place, prospects of India would further improve in tapping foreign capital for country’s developmental needs.