Titbits: The sliding rupee; A faltering tourism sector; Service to Mauritius and the Capacity Building programs .

The sliding rupee

It is now clear that the rupee is finally depreciating. During the last week, the US dollar weakened somewhat against the euro following the Spanish bank bailout and the Greek elections, but the US dollar has continued to strengthen vis à vis the rupee. Since the position of the Governor of the Bank of Mauritius (BOM) on preserving the rupee's value is well known, the possibility that the decision to depreciate has been forced upon the Bank by the appointees of the Ministry of Finance on the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cannot be ruled out.

Titbits: Opportunities missed; The monetary policy pause ; Innovation-led growth; Capital inflows.

From austerity to lower trend growth: Opportunities missed

 In the heat of debate that has followed the Central Bank Governor’s announcement of bold measures to correct the misalignment of the rupee, some of the arguments put forward by the Governor seemed to have been sidelined.  He has put the spotlight back on the lingering policy paralysis and structural constraints that are taking the rupee to lower levels.