quot;Re downfall is only a correctionquot;

The sharp depreciation of the rupee 8211; from 35.81/39 against the greenback in April 1997 to Rs 38.99/00 on December 4 8211; is quot;reflective of a correction of the cumulative real appreciation of the rupee,quot; the RBI report said. Since then, the rupee has depreciated further. The trade-based real effective exchange rate of the rupee, which had appreciated by 9.6 per cent by March 1997 over March 1993, rose further by 3.1 per cent during April-August, the RBI report said.

The central bank has reiterated its concern over the deceleration in industrial growth and pegged the growth of the economy at six per cent. Former RBI governor C Rangarajan had, in the busy season monetary and credit policy announced in October, given the first indication that GDP growth would fall from the earlier projected seven per cent to six per cent even though Finance Minister P Chidambaram had indicated that the rate would be seven per cent.

The report said quot;performance of the industrial sector has been a cause for some concernquot;.