The Indian economy has taken a huge leap forward since its 1991 crisis. The gradual and systematic implementation of liberalization, privatization and globalization has yielded positive results for the economy. India is one among the few countries, which were not hit by the Asian currency crisis of 1997. The center of gravity has shifted towards the East and the East Asian economies have grown stronger after the crisis. The international trade in this region has also expanded significantly. After the successful implementation of euro in Europe, the attention of the economists has shifted to East. The idea is to explore the possibility of implementation of a similar common currency for Asia by 2050 and the role that INR can play in the process.

In the recent years, the economists' attention has shifted from West to East. The countries affected by the Asian currency crisis have recovered. And they have become stronger than before. Discussions on the desirable Asian currency arrangements are gaining momentum. During the December 2003 Japan-ASEAN summit meeting, Japan's Vice-Minister of Finance called for the creation of an Asian common currency to resolve Asia's trade and currency imbalances by 2008. The Asian currency crisis during 1997-98 has made the affected countries in this region realize that they are required to re-examine their currency systems to prevent the recurrence of capital drains. Now, more attention is being paid to creating an Asian currency unit as a common currency in future.

At their meeting in Hyderabad, in May 2006, Finance Ministers of the ASEAN Plus Three (APT), endorsed the undertaking of a study on the creation of an Asian Currency Unit (ACU). Together with their agreement to work more closely toward coordinating their foreign exchange policies, enhancing the Chiang Mai Initiative and promoting the development of their bond markets, this was seen in many quarters as a tentative step toward a common regional currency similar to Euro.

The Indian economy has come a long way since 1991, when it faced severe Balance of Payments (BOP) crisis. The growth rate of the Indian economy for the current year has been 9.2%. There has been a lot of hype about India joining the trillion-dollar club. The rupee has been gaining in strength against the US dollar for the past several months.

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