By IANS
Mumbai : Expressing concern over appreciation of the Indian rupee, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath Tuesday said the government was looking at ways to counter its impact on sections of Indian economy.
"We are discussing with the export council on the way forward. The rupee's rise is a concern and the ministry of commerce and industry is discussing the issue with the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) also," the minister said at a two-day India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting that began here Monday.
The rupee has been gaining strongly over dollar in recent weeks and traded for about 40.45 a dollar Tuesday.
He said the rising rupee was connected to several international factors and that the government was looking at refunding local taxes to labour intensive units and those that have little or no import component.
"We know for a fact that certain sections of our economy are affected by the rise. The realisation from export services is going down. We are looking at various schemes and thinking of refunding taxes to help growth of exports," Kamal Nath said.
The minister, however, added that Indian industry had built resilience and reached a high level of competitiveness.
On the contentious issue of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that has led to violent protests in some part of the country, he said: "There should be no compulsory land acquisition."
He added that SEZs were here to stay, as they were important drivers of growth.