On Friday, the Indian rupee touched a new low against the US Dollar, as it reached 81.09 — a day after it had already slid by 83 paise on Thursday. This steep fall was, most likely, triggered by the hike in the US Fed rates. The US Fed increased the interest rate by a significant 75 basis points for the third straight time on Wednesday. With the Fed being determined to tame inflation at whatever cost, currencies across the world — of both developing and developed economies — are experiencing a downward pressure. Indian Rupee is no exception. In fact, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "If any one currency that did not get into the fluctuation of volatility as much as other currencies, it is the Indian Rupee. We have held up very well against the US dollar." The pressure on currencies, worldwide, is indeed more a result of strengthening of the US Dollar, and Indian Rupee has, to a certain extent, withstood this pressure. But this doesn't allay the concerns of businesses dependent on imports of raw materials or services. As import bills soar up, tackling inflationary pressures will become even more difficult. The government and the people cannot, therefore, seek solace in the fact that Indian Rupee is falling along with other currencies. Every economy has its own set of challenges that need to be dealt with objectively, and not comparatively. The problem doesn't lie in the numbers but in the manner these numbers could affect public life and national growth. While politics may be driven largely by optics, economy requires more of tactics. Unless and until challenges and objectives are clearly acknowledged, improvement will remain below par. The current global economic pressure can be said to have its root in the pandemic. As economies started emerging from the pandemic woes, the Russia-Ukraine war was waiting on its threshold to cripple the re-normalisation of economies. The extent up to which a country should be concerned about the current economic situation depends on three factors — the country's pre-pandemic economic standing, the impact of the peak pandemic waves on the economy and the degree to which the post-pandemic economic recovery was derailed due to the Russia Ukraine war. India's economy before the pandemic was more or less on a stable footing, if not at optimal level. Also, India was among the countries that were moderately affected by the Russia-Ukraine war. However, the beating that the Indian economy took during the pandemic, particularly the second wave, was drastic. As things stand today, additional millions have been pushed into the net of poverty. Small and medium enterprises, despite the government's claims, have been languishing. The reality is that India needs to do a great deal to offset the repercussions of the pandemic. There could be no room for complacency and rosy pictures. Even though the Russia-Ukraine war has had a mild impact on the Indian economy, it is not helping positively. The government and the RBI must be credited for their timely interventions towards containing inflation and strengthening the Rupee but that is simply far from enough. Furthermore, these interventions have their own sets of fallouts. In its bid to smoothen the Rupee trajectory, the RBI has already lost a great deal of foreign reserves. Long-term strategic intervention is the need of the hour. The US Fed has hinted in the clearest terms that it will increase interest rates all through the year unless it meets its two per cent inflation target. The approach it will adopt in the next year is also quite uncertain. The coming months need to be planned cautiously to bring in price stability and prevent the rupee from falling further. Notably, there has been no let-up in the exit of foreign portfolio investors from the Indian market. The risk ahead of us is not one-off in nature. Therefore, letting the string loose and allowing things to settle on their own might not be a good idea. It is time to acknowledge the problem and work it out.