Currency goes up and down in market economy: PM

New Delhi: With a steep fall in value of rupee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that in a market economy currency goes up and down and there are global uncertainties to which India is not an exception. “In a market economy, currency goes up and down,” Singh told mediapersons in a brief informal interaction at a dinner that he hosted here on completion of three years of UPA-II government. “There are uncertainities, global uncertainities,” he said while adding that India was no exception to the norms. Answering to a query, the prime minister said he would visit Pakistan at an “appropriate time”. Asked about negative perceptions of UPA government, Singh said that such a perception will be corrected by “what is happening in reality”. The prime minister assured that his government would fulfil its agenda and not disappoint people. [caption id=“attachment_318150” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“In a market economy, currency goes up and down,” Singh told mediapersons.AP"]  [/caption] Agni-V, Risat launches UPA achievements Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday lauded the test of Agni-V missile that can hit targets as far as China’s Beijing and the launch of the Risat-1 satellite that can keep a watch over India in all weather conditions as major achievement of his government. Releasing his government’s performance report on its third anniversary at a dinner hosted at his Race Course Road residence here, Manmohan Singh said it “saw the flawless test launch of the Agni-V long range ballistic missile and the successful fabrication and launch of the Risat-1 satellite, which can take images even in cloudy weather”. “I congratulate our scientists for these great achievements.” India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had tested Agni-V, the long range ballistic missile capable of reaching Beijing and Shanghai in China, on April 19, from the Wheeler Island off the Odisha coast. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) placed Risat-1 in orbit on 26 April. Agni-V, the released report said, is capable of carrying various forms of payloads, taking India into a select club of countries in the world. The report noted that the UPA government has placed special emphasis on enhancing defence preparedness and upgrading the capabilities of the armed forces to meet security challenges. Apart from listing the induction of the nuclear-powered submarine, INS Chakra, which was leased from Russia for 10 years, on April 4, the report also talked about several important defence equipment and systems being inducted, including transport aircraft, medium lift helicopters, interceptor boats and fleet tankers. It said the ordnance factories and defence public sector undertakings maintained their trend of increased production and enhanced investments in research and development. Other major milestones in the last one year, according to the report on security, included the Agni-IV 3,500-km range missile test, surface-to-surface tactical battlefield missile Prithvi-II test, and the induction of the indigenous light Combat Aircraft Tejas into the Indian Air Force. It said the first fully modified aircraft for the indigenously developed Indian Airborne Early Warning and Control System took to the skies in December 2011. IANS