There are times when nothing seems to go right. For the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, this is such a time. On Thursday, the rupee hit an all time low of 65 and kept falling further. A time when growth is sputtering and a slowdown has hit the economy, the rupee has hit its life low against the dollar and the country’s monetary authority, the ReserveBank of India(RBI), has had to resort to sending out mixed policy signals in a bid to ease the serious liquidity crunch in the system. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But who is to be blamed for the rupee fall? [caption id=“attachment_1055295” align=“alignright” width=“380”] Jim Walker[/caption] Jim Walker of Asianomics says India needs ‘responsible, sensible fiscal policy’ and not UPA’s flagship programmes. “Schemes such as the Food Security Bill, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, or NREGS, should be taken off the table, especially at a time when the economy is slowing down,” he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview. More from Business Hyundai India’s Rs 27,870 crore IPO oversubscribed by 2.28X, largely driven by institutional investors How Indian fintech startups are driving Malaysia’s UPI-like digital payments revolution He said that the government’s focus on food security bill and employment guarantee scheme are ‘crazy notions.’ “These are crazy notions when the economy is slowing down. They (UPA) failed miserably and are now reaping the benefits of the consequences,” he added. However, Walker also believed that the the sell-off in the rupee is overdone. “The way the policy has been acting in India over the course of 2-3 years has been surprising that the market has held up so well. Companies are under pressure, earnings are under pressure, fiscal deficit is out of control. So it has actually been long time coming and it probably is deserved at the moment,” he said. Impact Shorts More Shorts CNN-News18 Indian of the Year is back to recognise India’s Invincible Icons India’s loving silver and it’s caused a shortage this Diwali season. Here’s how Andrew Economos, Head of Sovereign & Institutional Strategy - Asia, JP Morgan Asset Management told Bloomberg in an interview that the recent moves by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reflect lack of leadership in the Indian government. “RBI is the only hero in my book,” he said.