NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra made some eye-opening statements on Thursday that caught everyone’s attention. Speaking at the Delhi School of Economics, he declared, “We do not target any level for the rupee.” That means the RBI is not trying to fix the rupee’s value at any special number. Instead, he explained, the rupee is like any financial product—it moves based on how much people want the dollar. "If demand for the dollar rises, the rupee will depreciate." Malhotra also connected the recent fall of the rupee mainly to the impact of US tariffs and cautious foreign money flows. He said, “Recent movement is linked to trade expectations and muted capital flows, but we are quite confident a good trade deal will happen soon.” Plus, India’s foreign exchange reserves are a strong safety net, standing tall at a whopping $690 billion, which means RBI can protect the rupee if needed. But what about cryptocurrencies? Malhotra was clear: the RBI is “very cautious” about them because of the risks involved. Instead, India is pushing its own digital currency called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). He proudly said, “We have a very sound digital payments system with UPI and NEFT. Our focus is on CBDC, which is a crypto backed by the central bank.” The final word on crypto rules will come from the government and its working group. When asked about India’s banks entering the global stage, Malhotra was optimistic. He said India doesn’t have a fixed “target number of banks” in the top ranks. However, with the economy growing fast and banks getting stronger, “it is only a matter of time before several Indian banks enter the world's top 100.” Let’s talk numbers: since the US slapped 100% tariffs on many Indian exports in October 2025, the rupee has tumbled about 3.5-3.6% against the dollar. It hovered near record lows around Rs 88.7 to a dollar, even dipping up to 0.7% in a single day! The strong dollar, rising oil prices, and weakness in other Asian currencies made things tougher. The RBI stepped up to stop the rupee falling too fast, keeping it in a tight range. But experts warn if it slips past Rs 89 per dollar, the central bank may need to jump in with more aggressive measures. In short, RBI is playing it cool but ready to guard the rupee, while gearing up for exciting digital money moves and banking glory on the world stage!