Rise in rupee to be checked : Kamal Nath

New Delhi, May 9 (UNI) There is a need to arrest the rise of the rupee against the dollar, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said today.

''With the US dollar becoming cheaper as compared to the rupee there is a need to arrest the rise,'' said the Minister on the sidelines of a function.

The Minister also said the sharp appreciation of the rupee, however, will not affect the export target of 160 billion dollars.

In spite of the assurance by the minister that the rising trend would not hit the export target, Nasscom President Kiran Karnik believes that the rupee becoming stronger against the dollar will hit the bottom line.

''If this trend continues then it is sure to affect bottom line but not top line,'' Mr Karnik told reporters here.

The rupee breached a nine-year high of Rs 40.53 a dollar on Monday before closing at a lower level of Rs 40.87.

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