On the 17th of September, on our Story of the Day that day, we mentioned that the government announced an array of steps, including removal of withholding tax on Masala bonds, relaxation for Foreign Portfolio Investors, and curbs on non-essential imports, to contain the widening current account deficit (CAD) and check the rupee fall.

The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the prevailing economic issues. This was the famous weekend meeting that had to be convened in the face of a sinking rupee. One of the steps has now been enforced – The government has hiked import duty on high-end consumer items including washing machines, air conditioner, footwear, diamonds, and importantly, jet fuel.

If you have any intense air travel planned for the upcoming holiday season, perhaps you might want to rethink it because it is very likely that air ticket prices will take off.