Rupee on way to become global currency

The Indian rupee is on the way to become a global currency and may well compete with dollar and Euro in the near future.

According to the reports India has its first payment in the rupee to the United Arab Emirates against purchase of crude oil.

The officials said that it was the first step toward making the rupee a global currency.

The reports said that the Indian Oil Corporation has paid for ten lakh barrel of crude oil from the Abu Dhabi based National Oil Company in the rupee.

India has also made some payment in the rupee to Russia against purchase of crude oil.

An official said that payment in rupee would help the country in controlling the demand for dollar and also Euro.

It would help the country in tackling currency fluctuations and save the hard currency.

It is noteworthy that India imports 85 per cent of its required crude oil and had to make payments in dollars which exerts a lot of pressure on the government's fiscal balance.

The officials however conceded that a lot was still to be done to make the rupee a truly global currency and that presently only a fraction of import bills are being paid in the rupee.