New Delhi: Finance Minister Jaswant Singh today (Apr 2, 2004) assured exporters that the Government and the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) were keeping a vigil on the movement of Rupee against US Dollar, and that "appropriate" steps would be taken at the "right" time to keep the market stable.

"Rupee has appreciated (against the Dollar) on its own. We are a keeping a vigil. Rest assured, appropriate steps will certainly be taken at the right time (to check any undue volatility)," Singh said.

He told a TV channel that the Rupee was market determined.

"The Rupee has gained significantly only against the greenback and not against other hard currencies like Euro, Pound Sterling, Yen and Deutsche Mark.

"The rise in Rupee has benefited importers", Singh said, but added that exporters, who had earlier parked their forex earnings abroad for 3-4 months on the hope of making easy gains, stand to lose in the current scenario.

The appreciation in the currency has made exports costly while making imports cheaper.

Exporters have been crying foul over the rise in Rupee that was rendering them uncompetitive in the global market. The Finance Minister asserted that RBI was managing the exchange rate well and there was no reason to panic.