Who gets hurt the most due to falling rupee?
The rupee has fallen to a fresh all-time low declining sharply against the US dollar to 74.10. A weaker rupee has made crude oil, electronics, precious metals, medicines and iron ore, which India imports in large quantities, costlier. Though these items are not for your daily consumption, they impact your finances indirectly. This fall in rupee's value against the US dollar is called rupee depreciation. The falling rupee spells bad news for some. Take a look:  Foreign education: A depreciating rupee increases the cost of foreign education. Students who take foreign loans to fund their dream, feel its pinch the most. When the rupee was around 64 per dollar in September 2017, a one-year $110,000 MBA programme at Harvard Business School costed students Rs 70 lakh. A year later, the same course cost the students more than Rs 80 lakh, a whopping increase of Rs 10 lakh as rupee to fell to 73.78 against the greenback. The students risk facing shortage of funds as the loan are taken according to the initial requirements. In such a case, either the students' personal contribution will have to increase, or they will have to ask the bank to increase the loan amount. Foreign Travel: A weak rupee can play spoilsport with your vacation plans to the United States or other international destinations. The fall in the rupee means now you have to shell out more money than before for air tickets or settle for a cheaper accommodation or reduce the number of travelling days. However, holiday packages booked in advance remain safe. Last year on September 10, the INR closed at 84 against the pound sterling.The same UK trip that you could have completed in Rs 2,00,000 at this time last year, for example, is going to cost you roughly Rs 28,560 more, just as far as conversion rates are concerned. Add to that the increased prices of flight tickets, hotel tariff and everything else! Those who are in the planning stage should opt for countries where rupee still holds its value comparatively. Medical Cost: For people needing medical care, a fall in rupee is a bad news. A depreciation in rupee pushes up the cost of medical care. This is because a considerable chunk of medical equipment is imported. Close to 40 per cent of hospital bill is due to use of Hi-Tech medical equipment and 80 per cent of such equipment is imported from the US. From cardiology to cancer to orthopaedic implants and consumables, imported equipment is used everywhere. Medical device industry has sought a minimum 10 per cent revision in their pricing from National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). However the prices for cardiac stents and implants are capped by the government. So, medical companies cannot increase their prices unless approved. Car Buyers: Auto manufacturers are expected to hike prices as the depreciation of rupee will raise their input costs as these companies use imported components. Maruti Suzuki, Honda, Ford, Tata, Mahindra and Mercedes-Benz have already hiked prices of their cars in the range of 2-4 per cent owing to high input cost and increased custom duty. Electronic consumer goods such as computers, televisions, mobile phones that have imported components will become costlier. A recent report by Jefferies pointed out that consumer goods giant Hindustan Unilever hiked prices of detergents, skin care items and soaps by 5-7% in August. Parachute hair oil and Saffola edible oil manufacturer Marico increased prices of hair oil portfolio by 7% while Colgate Palmolive increased prices in some of its brands by 4%. In May, Xiaomi increased the price Redmi Note 5 Pro by Rs 1,000 and 55-inch Mi TV 4 by Rs 5,000. Xiomi claims the price hike is an effort to ramp up supply in the face of recent changes in PCBA import taxes and the depreciation of the rupee since the beginning of the year.